The Signature Location
On September 3, 2025, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs walked into the dugout at Chase Field and signed a bill that committed up to 500 million dollars in public money to the stadium. House Bill 2704 was her pen, the dirt was her desk, and the Diamondbacks of Arizona were the reason the ceremony happened in the first place. The law guarantees the team stays in the state for 30 years.
The setting was deliberate. Not a capitol building, not a press conference room—a dugout. The message was clear: this deal mattered enough to sign it where the game actually happens.
The Second Bill for the Same Stadium
Here’s the detail that changes how you read this story: Chase Field already had been built with public money. The stadium opened in 1998, funded by a 0.25 percent sales tax and a contribution from Maricopa County. Taxpayers paid for it once. Now they were being asked to pay again.
The new 500 million dollars was framed as a renovation and retention package. The Diamondbacks of Arizona needed upgrades. The team needed a reason to stay. Ken Kendrick, the team’s principal owner, and the front office made clear they were not ruling out a move. The threat was real enough that Arizona lawmakers moved fast.
This is not unusual in baseball. Teams routinely use relocation as leverage. It works. What makes Arizona’s situation distinct is the transparency of the repeat bill—a second public payment to a stadium that was already publicly built.
Why This Still Matters
The deal locked in a 30-year commitment from the Diamondbacks of Arizona. For a state that had already invested in the infrastructure, that was the trade-off: more money now to avoid the cost of losing a major league team later.
For fans, the stadium gets upgrades. For the team, the funding is secured. For taxpayers, it’s a calculation: the value of keeping baseball in Arizona against the price tag of doing it.
As of 2026, the deal holds. The Diamondbacks of Arizona remain in Phoenix. Chase Field continues to host the team. The investment—both the original one from the 1990s and the new one from 2025—is part of the infrastructure now.
The story of Governor Katie Hobbs signing HB 2704 in the dugout is worth remembering because it shows how modern baseball stadiums get paid for. Not always through ticket sales or team revenue. Often through public dollars, negotiated under the pressure of relocation threats, and approved in ceremonies designed to make the moment feel ceremonial and final.
Ken Kendrick got his funding. Arizona got its team. The taxpayers got a 30-year promise. And the signature happened where baseball happens—on the dirt, with the field as witness.
The number: Arizona signed a $500 million public funding deal for Chase Field on September 3, 2025—the same stadium taxpayers had already built with public money in 1998.
Ownership data verified as of 2026-08-12.
