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 … Read More
In Defense of Ken Kendrick
When a sports team underperforms, there are always plenty of fingers to be pointed; hell, it’s basically a cottage industry if the team is prominent enough. It elevates radio personalities and YouTubers. It is the fuel that helps turn a flame into a raging inferno where jobs are lost and careers are destroyed. There are always plenty of potential targets. … Read More
Arizona can keep the Diamondbacks in Phoenix. But that only solves 1 problem | Opinion
Op-Ed from Supervisor Thomas Galvin, Reposted from the Arizona Republic Arizona has reached a pivotal moment in how we manage our professional sports infrastructure. Key stakeholders involved in the debate over the Arizona Diamondbacks’ future in downtown Phoenix are scheduled to meet this week to discuss legislation to fund stadium improvements. Read the full article here
Scottsdale’s Brilliant New Use of Public Space
Most civic structures and public places are relatively bland; after all, designing something truly different takes a different type of person and often a lot more money. It’s much easier to simply stand on the shoulders of those who have already done good work. No need to reinvent the wheel, after all…much easier to slap a couple small changes on … Read More
Ken Kendricks’ Legacy is Shaping Up
Arizona sports have had a really rough go of it recently, and a significant amount of the blame is often tossed at ownership (and for good reason). The Suns’ disappointment compared to expectations can easily be pinned on Mat Ishbia’s flashy offseason moves that seemed to be more style than substance. The Bidwell family has long been in the crosshairs … Read More
Nothing’s Ever Easy: the Diamondbacks Stadium Plan Runs Into Opponents
The Arizona Diamondbacks are in a bit of a pickle. Their once classic yet futuristic ballpark is now outdated, breaking down, and in sore need of significant upgrades. A few legislators came up with a potential solution which would cover the costs without putting an extra burden on taxpayers if they do not go to games. The concept is, if … Read More
Pragmatic Solutions to a Sticky Subject: Rep. Wilmeth and the Diamondbacks
Renovations or construction of sports stadiums are amongst the stickiest of subjects in all of America. Far too often, hyper-wealthy sports team owners have strong-armed municipalities into unfortunate agreements that load the city with debt in order to capture additional revenue with no risk but all cost to the taxpayer. It creates hard feelings for a fanbase, which then has … Read More
Huge New Signing for the Diamondbacks: Are They Following the Suns Trend of Overpaying for Underproduction?
One of the defining features of the Phoenix Suns has many splurging on contracts, as we have written about recently. Rolling out the Brinks truck for Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal should have led to title contention, but instead has led to relative mediocrity matched with expensive tickets. Well it looks as though the Arizona Diamondbacks might be … Read More
Is It Time to Boycott the Cactus League?
Spring training baseball is an iconic part of Arizona. Every February to the end of March, people descend from around the country to escape winter and watch their favorite teams in a relaxed atmosphere, and us locals have ourselves a good reason to go see an inexpensive ballgame in beautiful weather. Even if we don’t care about the outcome, that’s … Read More
Just As We Thought It Was Over: Spring Training Coming Back, but Financial Upside to be Muted
It is always perilous to write ahead of time about ever-changing situations. We typically write over the weekend for our blog posts which are scheduled during the week. The weekend-before-last, we wrote about how Spring Training was likely dead for the year and the impact that that would have on Scottsdale. Well it didn’t take too long to be proven … Read More
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