One of the Rockies’ division rivals might be in line for a new stadium.
On Wednesday, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors passed an agreement allowing the Diamondbacks to leave Chase Field without penalty in 2022 — five years earlier than the current contract ends in 2027 — if the team finds a different location within the county.
With the agreement, if the Diamondbacks were to leave Arizona after 2022, the franchise would be on the hook for penalties in the range between $5 million and $25 million.
The team has been playing in downtown Phoenix since 1998, but Chase Field has become a contentious ballpark as of late considering the Diamondbacks sued Maricopa County in 2017, looking to break its lease based on the argument that the county hadn’t set aside enough money for stadium upkeep.