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Maryvale Baseball Park Renovations on Tap; Brewers Commit to 25-Year Lease

Maryvale Baseball Park

The Milwaukee Brewers have settled on Maryvale Baseball Park renovations and would commit to stay in the Phoenix training camp through 2042 under a proposed new lease.

It’s no secret that the Brewers have been planning for their spring-training future, either working with third parties (Peoria and Gilbert proposals went public; other talks did not) or the city on Maryvale Baseball Park renovations. Given the lack of options, the Brewers decided to move forward on a plan  centered on Maryvale Baseball Park renovations, which opened in 1998 and has been relatively unchanged since that time.

The Brewers would contribute between $41 million and $63 million toward the renovations, with the city contributing $10 million from its Sports Facilities Fund. Under the proposal, the Brewers would take over the management and operation of the facility from Phoenix. The city would spend $10 million for the next five years on renovations and pay the Brewers $1.4 million annually (with a 4 percent annual increase) to manage the spring-training camp — about what the city is spending now to maintain the facility. At the end of the 25-year lease, the Brewers will have the option of buying Maryvale Baseball Park and the adjoining training camp. Future maintenance would be funded by the team, with $1 million set aside in a dedicated fund by the team beginning in 2022.

Some of the proposed changes:

  • A new 65,000-square-foot clubhouse building with retail, expanded ticketing and additional office space. This would put the Brewers on par with other MLB teams training in the Phoenix area. The existing clubhouse would be converted to a minor-league facility.
  • A spruced-up concourse, including a widened first-base concourse complete with more shade and expanded restrooms.
  • A new kids play area down the first-base line
  • An additional practice field mirroring Miller Park dimensions, as an existing practice diamond is expanded.

“The Milwaukee Brewers are committed to Phoenix and the community of Maryvale, and pending Phoenix City Council approval, will develop a world-class facility for our year-round Arizona-based operations, including Spring Training,” Brewers executive vice president of finance and administration Bob Quinn said in a statement. “The project, in which the Brewers will invest between $41-$63 million, will ensure our continued presence in a community that has served as our second home for the past 20 seasons.

“In addition, we are committing more financial and support resources to establish and benefit charitable and educational programs in the area. We appreciate the partnership of the city of Phoenix, the efforts of the many civic leaders and our community and private sector partners, in creating this vision. We look forward to the next steps in making it a reality.”

As of now, this is just a proposal agreed to by the city and the Brewers. The city will be asked to approve the new lease on Nov. 15. If passed, work would begin after spring training ends in 2018, with the first renovations unveiled in 2019.

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