Phoenix looks to extend Brewers' spring-training facility lease

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Phoenix looks to extend Milwaukee Brewers' spring-training facility lease

by Craig Harris, The Arizona Republic

Phoenix is working on a long-term deal to keep the Milwaukee Brewers at their spring-training facility at Maryvale Baseball Park.

 

The Brewers have the option to leave Maryvale after the 2012 spring-training season. However, there have not been any public threats to leave, despite the fact that new ballparks and stadium renovations have been afforded other Cactus League teams.

 

The Brewers have the option of signing as many as three two-year lease extensions, a city official said.

 

"We basically want to do everything we can to keep the Brewers in Maryvale - within reason, of course," said Rick Naimark, the city's deputy city manager involved in the negotiations. "They understand our interest to get this deal done in the next few months."

 

Naimark declined to provide specific details on what the Brewers want, other than to say they want enhancements to their training facilities and to some of the buildings at the west Phoenix park.

 

Naimark said the city would not build the team a new stadium.

 

No price tag for incentives has been disclosed, but the city is in line to get about $12 million from the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, which funds construction of and improvements to Cactus League stadiums. Funding is provided through Maricopa County hotel and rental-car taxes earmarked for spring training.

 

Because the recession has curtailed revenue, money for Phoenix will not be available until 2020, according to the sports authority.

 

Phoenix could pay for improvements now and get reimbursed later, a practice common among other Valley cities that host Cactus League teams and have built or renovated their parks. Naimark said the city would be able to finance "some minor improvements" and use authority money to cover the cost.

 

While the Brewers want a nicer spring-training home, authority Chief Executive Tom Sadler said he had heard from no one in the Brewers organization that they want to move.

 

Tyler Barnes, a Brewers spokesman, said the club was "not offering any comments on our negotiations related to spring training."

 

The city owns Maryvale Baseball Park, and reached a 15-year lease agreement with the Brewers in 1998, when the facility opened.

 

The stadium, near Indian School Road and 51st Avenue, seats up to 10,000 people. The complex includes practice fields, clubhouses and an administration building. Phoenix developer John F. Long, who helped create the Maryvale community, donated 56 acres to accommodate the park.

 

While Major League Baseball has called the stadium "state of the art," the Brewers have seen Surprise, Glendale and Goodyear build new facilities for other teams. Mesa is working on building the Chicago Cubs a new ballpark, while this year the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies are moving from Tucson to a new 140-acre site on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community just west of Loop 101 and north of Indian Bend Road.

 

The Brewers, a Cactus League mainstay with a loyal following, have been one of the more nomadic teams to play in the Valley. Since the Brewers started training in 1969, when the franchise for one season was the Seattle Pilots, the Brewers have trained in Tempe, Sun City and Chandler. The club moved to Maryvale in 1998.

 

Photo by Nick Oza / The Arizona Republic

R.J. Seidel, a Milwaukee Brewers minor-league pitcher, gets in some practice at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix. The Brewers, who have been at the Maryvale facility since 1998, have the option of leaving after the 2012 spring-training season.

 

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