Maryvale Baseball Park Renovations on Tap; Brewers Commit to 25-Year Lease (Phoenix: camp, tax)

[cjseliga]

Looks like the Brewers are staying in Maryvale, for at least another 25 years:

Maryvale Baseball Park Renovations on Tap; Brewers Commit to 25-Year Lease

The Brewers would contribute between $41 million and $63 million toward the renovations, with the city contributing $10 million from its Sports Facilities Fund. Under the proposal, the Brewers would take over the management and operation of the facility from Phoenix. The city would spend $10 million for the next five years on renovations and pay the Brewers $1.4 million annually (with a 4 percent annual increase) to manage the spring-training camp — about what the city is spending now to maintain the facility.

[Java Jolt]

Phoenix remains a professional sports hub.

Four franchises of its own and a haven for baseball spring training.

[Bondurant]

Pending approval of City Council vote. Hopefully they vote against it. I love Klements and Bob Uecker but the Brewers are a waste of tax payer dollars. Brewers are near the bottom for overall and average attendance.

[JGMotorsport64]

But of course. Who would want to leave Maryvale anyway?

[take57]

Compared to the usual shenanigans in terms of sports venue funding, this turned out relatively benign. While there shouldn't be any expectations that Maryvale Baseball Park will undergo a palatial renovation, it would appear the team seems content in making a financial commitment and will be sticking around for awhile.

What I find striking is the about-face from the initial sabre rattling "We'll move the team !!!" stance to a reasonable partnership with the city. Maybe they overestimated demand for cities wanting Spring Training facilities, maybe the opportunity to acquire the land at the end of the lease (hopefully at fair market value) was enough to seal the deal. Hard to say.

IIRC, the Brewers make up a significant part of the team owners wealth, unlike a lot of clubs, so maybe he felt it wasn't worth the risk of upsetting the entire apple cart over what amounts to an annex facility. In any event, I can't imagine folks in the executive offices of the Diamondbacks and Coyotes are too pleased to witness the city not folding like a two-dollar suitcase when asking for public subsidies for their private enterprises.