Chase Field has served as the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks since the franchise's 1998 debut, putting it around the middle of the league in terms of age. Yet Major League Baseball is reportedly unhappy with the condition of the ballpark, and could threaten to move the Diamondbacks out of Phoenix if the local government doesn't agree to pay for millions of dollars in repair.
Here's the scoop, courtesy of the Arizona Republic:
Major League Baseball officials are so alarmed by recent equipment breakdowns at Chase Field that they might require the Arizona Diamondbacks to leave Phoenix unless the county government pays for millions of dollars in stadium repairs, an attorney for the team warned Tuesday.
There has been back and forth between the team's lawyer -- Leo Beus, who said, "Major League Baseball ... they're very, very concerned" -- and government officials about who, precisely, is responsible for certain repairs -- like a sanitation pipe that burst, and an air conditioner that failed after a power surge -- as well as what is and isn't covered under the guidelines. The two sides are also arguing about whether to go to arbitration versus court. They're probably arguing about what color the sky is, too, based on everything else.
Essentially, this seems to boil down to a case where MLB and one of its teams wants someone else to foot the bill on a stadium-related matter. Otherwise, hey, baseball might go to another city. In that sense, this is business as usual.
