A group interested in buying Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has backed out of negotiations.
The Maricopa County Stadium District Board of Directors, which has owned the stadium since its construction in the mid-1990s, announced Monday that Stadium Real Estate Partners II had decided against buying the stadium.
The group began the process of selling the stadium in August, when the county board voted 5-0 to authorize the Diamondbacks to enter into negotiations about the sale.
According to the letter sent by Stadium Real Estate Partners II to the county, the Diamondbacks refused to meet with their potential new landlords and demanded financial documentation as a precondition to any meeting. The records requested by the team included evidence of its financial condition, funding sources and corporate structure.
Any discussion of investment by a potential buyer is "rendered moot because of the lack of cooperation and courtesies by the Diamondbacks," the partners wrote.
"We have been informed of the prospective buyer's decision and are deeply offended that Mr. Greenberg would suggest we have been uncooperative when we have merely asked for answers to the same questions the buyer agreed to provide to the County," the D-backs said in a statement released to ABC15.
"In fact, in the agreement between the two parties, it was agreed upon that, 'Upon written request the Buyer shall provide proof of financial capability.' For any sophisticated business arrangement, and as a partner in the stadium, this basic information is more than reasonable. We have always been willing to meet and would do so enthusiastically if a basic legitimacy of the buyers were to first be established."
A potential sale of Chase Field was kicked off earlier this year when the Diamondbacks and county butted heads over needed maintenance to the venue, which opened in 1998. The team and county fought over who would pay for $187 million in repairs, leading the team to say it could leave its lease early and look at other options for where to call home.
The county says it remains committed to holding the Diamondbacks to a lease that commits the team to Chase Field through 2028.
