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It’s been a tough year for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Their new ace pitcher is out, injured for the year. At the time of writing the team is sitting exactly at .500, good enough for 4th place in the division. And their once impressive ballpark is decaying quickly, and while a novel plan to fund renovations was proposed, it faced stiff opposition (you can read out coverage here). But as of recently, at least for the last item there is significant reason for hope.
A significant problem also had a reasonable solution; the Diamondbacks’ ballpark, Chase Park, is falling apart. Representative Justin Wilmeth crafted a bill that would fund improvements to the park without raising taxes. Sounds great, right? The solution simply would have diverted taxes collected within the ballpark and adjacent and related buildings towards the renovations. That way only people who are going to games are paying to renovate the stadium. A win-win, right?
Not quite. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego threw water on the plan, objecting to the fact that those funds that are currently being collected at the stadium are currently being utilized by the city. She came out in strong objection to the plan, but thankfully for Diamondbacks fans, her voice might not be strong enough.
The Wilmeth bill with a number of sponsors passed a major hurdle, passing through the State Senate with a 19-11 vote, pulling a few Democratic votes and making it a bipartisan vote. The House passed a similar bill earlier this year in a similarly bipartisan vote. Now the Senate is done with their business for the year, and since the Senate bill is slightly different from the original House bill, the revised bill goes back to the House.
However, while the bill is essentially certain to pass the House as comfortably as it did last time, where it breezed through with a 35-25 vote, there is one last hurdle: Governor Katie Hobbs. Hobbs, who has generally been an ally of Mayor Gallego, would still need to sign it into law. If she were to veto the bill, it is not a guarantee that there will be the votes in the House and Senate to override it.
That said, things look good for this bill, which is good for all of us. Refusal to upgrade a venue whose roof no longer closes properly would force ownership into difficult decisions, and wouldn’t rule out a move. This is a pragmatic solution that will help ensure that the Diamondbacks remain in place for the next generation to appreciate, which after the departure of the Coyotes is a welcome relief for local sports fans.