Team says some repairs need to be done this year
The Arizona Diamondbacks say they worry their record-breaking winning streak could be interrupted by equipment breakdowns at Chase Field, and the team again is urging a judge to restart stalled negotiations with Maricopa County or let it find a new home, reports The Arizona Republic
The latest flare-up in the seemingly intractable conflict over the 19-yearold stadium threatens to overshadow the thrill of watching the baseball team’s string of on-field successes. The rift seems to deepen by the day, the newspaper says.
The team believes that pipes for airconditioning, sanitation, grease and fire protection are “rotting from the inside” and must be replaced within the year to avoid another incident of flooding like the one that happened in June, said Leo Beus, the Diamondbacks’ private attorney.
“We don’t want to be put in a position where we may not be able to play games in this stadium,” he told The Arizona Republic . “If you don’t have airconditioning in a domed stadium in this climate, you simply don’t play baseball.”
Team and county officials were supposed to have moved their quarrel over an estimated $187 million in repairs during the next decade into arbitration. The typically private process of dispute resolution is supposed to be speedier and cheaper than court.
But not long after Superior Court Judge Karen Mullins ordered the Diamondbacks and the county to negotiate outside the courtroom, the Diamondbacks came back asking her for help.
Negotiations have stalled because the two parties have failed to agree on selecting a three-person arbitration panel, Beus said. He asked the judge to set a Sept. 30 deadline for choosing arbitrators, while reiterating the team’s request to move. He cited the recent case of pipes bursting and air-conditioning shutting down at the stadium, a repair of which county officials argue is the team’s responsibility
