The Diamondbacks are facing a climate problem. They aren’t alone among US sports teams

The Arizona Diamondbacks have a climate problem. To be more precise, Phoenix has a climate problem and, as a result, the Diamondbacks have a field that needs renovations if the team is going to keep fans cool – and no one is sure whose responsibility it is to pay for it.

The team’s lease on Chase Field expires in 2027, and negotiations with Maricopa county have stalled. The organization’s plan to fund the $400m to $500m project is modeled on the Arizona Cardinals’ successful bid to fund their own field renovation through stadium sales and recaptured income, and the plan is supported by the Chamber of Commerce, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Greater Phoenix Leadership, the Economic Council and Downtown Phoenix, Inc.

So what’s the problem?

One glaring issue is that county officials can’t – or don’t want to – contribute money like they did when the Suns needed their own upgrades in 2019. The root of the issue is in the renegotiation of the contract between the Diamondbacks and Maricopa county in 2018, which resulted in the team assuming financial responsibilities for repairs and maintenance – a responsibility it seems the team is now attempting to offset, at least in part. (The Diamondbacks did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Guardian.)

This financial dispute is taking place against the backdrop of dire climate warnings for the city, including that by 2100 it will be too dangerous for anyone – athlete or otherwise – to work outside for 162 days of the year.. and the team is already struggling to keep the stadium cool enough for fans throughout the summer.

Club owner Derrick Hall believes that building a new stadium is the best path forward, but it’s also the most expensive (renovations would cost up to $500m, but a brand new facility could top $1bn). In September he told Sports Business Journal that modern facilities have to be multi-use and that “it’s about mixed-use, it’s about activating 365 days per year, hotels, restaurants, retail and office space.”

Questions about who is responsible for stadium renovations persist with or without climate concerns, explained Dr Timothy Kellison, an associate professor in Florida State University’s department of sport management. Teams and city governments should first and foremost consider the economic impact of funding such changes on the public. The first question that should be asked, he added, is whether or not “the public investment is worth the cost to the public in terms of the return on investment, if taxpayers were responsible for paying for a major renovation or a construction”. The answer to that question is “always no”.

Offsetting the cost to fans is also something Hall told Sports Business Journal he’s not interested in doing as well. A proposed “theme park district” at Chase Field would have raised taxes by up to 9% on each sale: beer, food, merch, and more. “I don’t think it’s the right thing when it comes to renovation because you’re really taxing your best fans, and I don’t want to do that,” he said.

Adaptations to stadiums can look different depending on what city the stadium is in, and what specific aspect of climate change is particularly tough to contend with. When the Texas Rangers opted to build a new ballpark just south of their former home Globe Life Park, they did so with the climate in mind.

One of the chief reasons for the move cited by the team was, in fact, weather: the field’s location left it more vulnerable than most to high temperatures and rainstorms, so plans for the new stadium included a retractable roof. The option gave the team the ability to keep the stadium cooler on blazing hot Texas days and to play games, rain or shine.

The total cost of building a new field was $1.2bn. When it came to paying for Globe Life Field, the Rangers and the city of Arlington, Texas, struck a 50/50 split, with the city’s contributions capped at $500,000. Both plans were funded by the public: the city tacked on a half a cent sales tax, a 2% hotel tax, and a 5% car rental tax, and voters approved a tax of up to 10% on tickets and $3 on parking at the new field.

The Diamondbacks aren’t the only professional team facing a growing climate problem, and as the threats of climate change continue to become realities in new and sometimes terrifying ways, more and more teams and leagues will have to address the problem.

“Sport is seeing every climate hazard: in the West and through the Rocky Mountains it’s drought and fires, while the South and the East are fighting off increasingly severe storms,” said Dr. Madeleine Orr, assistant professor of sport ecology at the University of Toronto. “Through the center of the country, depending on where you are, the impacts look like flooding, risks of more severe tornadoes, and of course the whole country is facing down higher numbers of very hot days – which increase the risks of exertional heat-related illnesses for athletes, coaches, and referees – and warmer winters, which threatens all winter sport.”

Heat, like what fans of the Rangers and Diamondbacks are up against, isn’t the only concern. As the climate warms up, air quality diminishes, which is a problem for both athletes and spectators alike. Problems with air quality are spurred by everything from pollution to wildfires, and those problems are impacting stadiums all over the world.

So far, a lot of venues have taken a take-it-as-it-comes approach to solving climate-related problems, said Dr Orr. “Meaning, when a venue faces major floods, they install better drainage systems, or when a venue has repeated issues with extreme heat, they invest in better air conditioning.” The result is that problems are addressed, but often not as quickly as they should be. “In other words,” she continued, “many venues are at risk of facing climate hazards they aren’t ready to face, but aren’t making the investments and moves to adapt because it doesn’t feel like a big enough threat yet.”

What will likely change that approach will be the financial strain that climate change – and the costs associated with dealing with its impact – places on venues, teams, and even fans. “As climate hazards start straining the team’s operating budgets through postponed or canceled games, damages to facilities from extreme weather events, or simply higher insurance premiums” will be the push that many teams and cities need to make the necessary changes, Orr added.

There’s also another aspect of the climate conversation that has to be danced around: the politics of a specific city. While it’s rare to find a facility manager who isn’t aware of the threats posed by weather and climate, “what often happens is the adaptations and upgrades are being done quietly, because climate change can be a tricky topic to talk about in some parts of the country,” Orr said.

It’s also true that, for the most part, stadium repairs and renovations aren’t really headline-grabbing news. Fans aren’t particularly invested in what drainage systems a field is or isn’t using, so sports organizations aren’t compelled to share the news far and wide when it does happen. If the politics of a region dictate that fans care about climate-friendly renovations, then a team or venue can and will go all out, which is the case with Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.

The venue opened to significant fanfare in late 2021 and is home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, and also hosts concerts. Named after Amazon’s 2019 Climate Pledge, the stadium “aims to set a new sustainability bar for the sports and events industry”. To that end, it is the first venue in the country to work toward net-zero certification. Tickets to sports events also double as free public transit passes, which reduces the number of people driving to and from games, and the arena and Amazon provide $500,000 in grants to regional nonprofits that work toward advancing environmental justice.

In the end, sports teams, cities, and even fans will have to continue to adapt to new realities that climate change has introduced. While conversations around climate change are often more disheartening (to put it mildly) than not, there are people around the US who are taking the right steps to meet challenges where they are.

And hey, at least baseball players might hit more home runs as the temperatures heat up, which is something. Right?