Phoenix Area Stadium and Arena News

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

Looks like the bill might get a vote on the floor this week. Appears that all sides will support the bill and ultimately get the Governor's signature.

I'm ready to move past this and anxious to see what the DBacks have lined up and what potential mixed-used developments will go up around the ballpark.

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/chase-field-7/3587333/

A lot of cities have been able to do incredible things around their ballparks in recent years. Downtown finally has enough people in it all the time to make the prospect no absurd so I am also excited about what can be done Looking very intently at maybe replacing or or wrapping some of the parking garages with development or centralizing all the parking south of the ballpark opening up the areas north and west of the stadium for new developments.

The parking Garage between Chase and Footprint is such a underutilized space.

[xymox]

Originally Posted by Obadno

A lot of cities have been able to do incredible things around their ballparks in recent years. Downtown finally has enough people in it all the time to make the prospect no absurd so I am also excited about what can be done Looking very intently at maybe replacing or or wrapping some of the parking garages with development or centralizing all the parking south of the ballpark opening up the areas north and west of the stadium for new developments.

The parking Garage between Chase and Footprint is such a underutilized space.

Update - this passed the Senate tonight. Now to the house...

[az_daniel]

The best ballparks are well integrated into fine grained neighborhoods, making the neighborhood is part of a full game day experience. Chase Field is positioned in a huge dead zone with some very unfortunate anti-urban context - very large parking garages, old convention buildings, the 7th street bridge, train tracks and an energy plant, etc. I'm excited for what they have in mind - it is important to help secure this investment in the building long term.

i hope we can really begin to stitch the stadium district and the warehouse district together - there is such a timeless connection between baseball and brick.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by az_daniel

The best ballparks are well integrated into fine grained neighborhoods, making the neighborhood is part of a full game day experience. Chase Field is positioned in a huge dead zone with some very unfortunate anti-urban context - very large parking garages, old convention buildings, the 7th street bridge, train tracks and an energy plant, etc. I'm excited for what they have in mind - it is important to help secure this investment in the building long term.

i hope we can really begin to stitch the stadium district and the warehouse district together - there is such a timeless connection between baseball and brick.

Something pretty interesting could be done with 4th Street (Randy Johnson Way). They could close that down and open up a large space for a D'Baks Village of sorts, sort of like the St. Louis Cardinals have done. If they ditched that large parking garage you could have hotels, condos etc... continuing down to Jackson Street and then West on Jackson.

I remember when Coopers Town was still open, that was a really cool venue.

[ASU Diablo]

Governor Hobbs signed it into law!

https://x.com/GovernorHobbs/status/1937264392485425209

[N830MH]

It’s official!! Gov Hobbs signs the bill for Chase Field renovation. It’s done!!

Governor Hobbs signs $1.2 billion funding bill for Chase Field. D-backs CEO tells 12News that big changes are ahead for fans.

https://www.12news.com/mobile/article/ne.../75-f2ddcc7a-5d8b-43c1-9bab-f236b489eb8c

[azliam]

Originally Posted by N830MH

It’s official!! Gov Hobbs signs the bill for Chase Field renovation. It’s done!!

Governor Hobbs signs $1.2 billion funding bill for Chase Field. D-backs CEO tells 12News that big changes are ahead for fans.

https://www.12news.com/mobile/article/ne.../75-f2ddcc7a-5d8b-43c1-9bab-f236b489eb8c

That's a lot of money to "improve" that monstrosity when you also add ownership's investment. Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan, but I wish they would do a true renovation, maybe make it a little more visually appealing.

[somethingfast]

Originally Posted by azliam

That's a lot of money to "improve" that monstrosity when you also add ownership's investment. Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan, but I wish they would do a true renovation, maybe make it a little more visually appealing.

They should demolish that eyesore and make the owners/MLB pay for half of the cost to build a new, much shorter building (no taller than 1/3 our "tallest" [so 160 ft] so it doesn't look ginormous against or stubby skyline) that is much deeper into the ground, where natural cooling can help. Why is it so hard to be creative??? I just don't get it. But, yeah, Hobbes "loses" $350 million in state funds but we can afford this...

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by somethingfast

They should demolish that eyesore and make the owners/MLB pay for half of the cost to build a new, much shorter building (no taller than 1/3 our "tallest" [so 160 ft] so it doesn't look ginormous against or stubby skyline) that is much deeper into the ground, where natural cooling can help. Why is it so hard to be creative??? I just don't get it. But, yeah, Hobbes "loses" $350 million in state funds but we can afford this...

I like the stadium's prominence. I can look out the window from my office and see when the roof's open and when it's not. If the skyline is "stubby," then let's add some height rather than fantasizing about shortening existing structures (although I'd still like to see the radio towers removed from the Westward Ho.)

[azliam]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

I like the stadium's prominence. I can look out the window from my office and see when the roof's open and when it's not. If the skyline is "stubby," then let's add some height rather than fantasizing about shortening existing structures (although I'd still like to see the radio towers removed from the Westward Ho.)

I think both can be true. Yes, whilst our skyline continues to improve, it's still stubby and I'd love to see some height (let's GO Astra). Also, yes, of course Chase Field is prominent and also overpowers downtown and IMO looks and feels like a huge airplane hangar next to the skyline - It is a part of our history now, but I do wish it was a little more visually appealing. But that aside, I know they will start with a lot of things we won't see like AC improvements, plumbing, maintaining the roof which are essential. I do think activating the area around Chase with mixed-use developments, new retail, restaurants, and a hotel to draw more people to the area would be great. The area needs more personality. Also, the radio tower on Westward Ho is iconic and also part of downtown and AZ history. I don't think it should be removed. It's been there since the 40's and was added to facilitate broadcasting for KPHO, AZ's first television station. Personally, I have lots of memories from back in the day - weekends looking up at the sky from the back patio at Amsterdam and seeing it at night.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by somethingfast

They should demolish that eyesore and make the owners/MLB pay for half of the cost to build a new, much shorter building (no taller than 1/3 our "tallest" [so 160 ft] so it doesn't look ginormous against or stubby skyline) that is much deeper into the ground, where natural cooling can help. Why is it so hard to be creative??? I just don't get it. But, yeah, Hobbes "loses" $350 million in state funds but we can afford this...

It can cost hundreds of millions to demolish a stadium, it's only 30 years old, do we need the flashiest stadium in the country? I don't think so. Just want to improve it, right size the capacity, and add some modern amenities. Kind of like what the Suns did.

Between the public contribution and the owners commitment, we should be talking about $2B or so dollars. That should get a few really cool updates made.

[muertecaza]

Chase Field renovation bill signed into law:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/4614...-field-30-years-approval-renovation-bill

https://www.azfamily.com/2025/09/03/bill...ondbacks-home-chase-field-next-30-years/

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by somethingfast

They should demolish that eyesore and make the owners/MLB pay for half of the cost to build a new, much shorter building (no taller than 1/3 our "tallest" [so 160 ft] so it doesn't look ginormous against or stubby skyline) that is much deeper into the ground, where natural cooling can help. Why is it so hard to be creative??? I just don't get it. But, yeah, Hobbes "loses" $350 million in state funds but we can afford this...

Baseball is not football they don't just wreck stadiums. Especially not ones with good history

[ASU Diablo]

According to Derrick Hall, reducing capacity will not be a priority which is kind of wild. I guess I understand the reasoning but there's no way each concert they host is always selling out?

Also, it might be a while before we see any renderings to proposed developments. They are basically starting from scratch.

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/chase-field-hb-3/3594788/

[phoenixwillrise]

Can the San Francisco Giant's pay for their own stadium and yet the Diamondbacks can't pay for the rehab of Chase Field? Why do the taxpayers have to make a millionaire a potential billionaire? Why couldn't this at minimum be a no interest loan secured by potential part minority ownership of the team if they reneged on the payoff of the loan? From the sounds of it they didn't even attempt to get a better deal for the taxpayers as they just rolled over on the perceived threat that they might move.

[somethingfast]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

According to Derrick Hall, reducing capacity will not be a priority which is kind of wild. I guess I understand the reasoning but there's no way each concert they host is always selling out?

Also, it might be a while before we see any renderings to proposed developments. They are basically starting from scratch.

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/chase-field-hb-3/3594788/

Reducing capacity is a function of the exclusivity of pro sports. Average family cannot afford to go to a baseball game so instead of making the game more affordable and accessible, they reduce capacity to give the appearance of strong demand (cavernous, empty stadiums don't look good). Pro sports attendance is for the fanatical and rich these days.

[builder03]

Originally Posted by somethingfast

Reducing capacity is a function of the exclusivity of pro sports. Average family cannot afford to go to a baseball game so instead of making the game more affordable and accessible, they reduce capacity to give the appearance of strong demand (cavernous, empty stadiums don't look good). Pro sports attendance is for the fanatical and rich these days.

The Diamondbacks are certainly an exception to this. $300 season passes and $5-$10 day-of ticket deals at least once a week. Very affordable if you ask me. And the team has been competitive and entertaining the past few seasons.

[somethingfast]

Originally Posted by builder03

The Diamondbacks are certainly an exception to this. $300 season passes and $5-$10 day-of ticket deals at least once a week. Very affordable if you ask me. And the team has been competitive and entertaining the past few seasons.

I would bet that will end with a reduced capacity stadium. And I'd also bet that those rates were mostly to the lousy product that put on the field up until recently. I could be wrong. I don't even are. Pro sports are nothing but crass corporatism to me.

[az_daniel]

The organization made an enormous amount of money during the 2023 playoff run when Chase was sold out at playoff ticket prices. If you asked the team this question prior to 2023, i bet a reduction in capacity would have been higher priority. But 2023 proved that even an occasional deep playoff run is wildly lucrative at the current capacity. It is unlikely a significant reduction is on the table.

[TJPHXskyscraperfan]

Originally Posted by somethingfast

I would bet that will end with a reduced capacity stadium. And I'd also bet that those rates were mostly to the lousy product that put on the field up until recently. I could be wrong. I don't even are. Pro sports are nothing but crass corporatism to me.

Baseball is the most affordable sport to go to. The good thing about having so many games. Tickets for $10 to $20 are easy to find. Student pass and deals throughout the year. They get you at the concession stand. Even if they reduce capacity, you are talking going from about 48,000 down to 40,000. It only gets that full for holidays and big games anyway. But as far as sports go, to each their own but pro sports are awesome, they truly bring communities together for a common goal. Of course there is money involved, what part of life doesn’t involve money? It’s just called supply and demand, if everyone could hit a 100 MPH fast ball everyone would do it. Not many people can do that although half the population could probably do my job. Also one more thing, the stadiums are economic engines for pretty much every downtown across America. There are only positives that come out of having stadiums in downtowns across America.