Big baseball bucks: Phoenician launches GoFundMe to purchase Chase Field

PHOENIX — A Phoenix man launched an online fundraiser on Wednesday with a lofty goal: To raise enough money to purchase Chase Field.

Maricopa County moved ahead with a deal the same day to sell the facility to Integral Group, an investment company, at a price no lower than $60 million.

While the deal could be a blessing to both taxpayers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who call Chase Field home, the GoFundMe promises to not only purchase the stadium, but give any profits after repairs back to county taxpayers.

The man behind the online fundraiser, George Spat, said he was originally against taxpayer funds being used to build the facility, but has since changed his tune and feels the money was “well-spent.”

On the GoFundMe, he wrote that, should the campaign be successful and Chase Field become the property of the people, the plan to fund things moving forward would rely entirely on corporate sponsorships. This would include everything from toilet bowl cleaners all the way up to naming the dugouts and restrooms.

Plaques would be available for purchase for every state in the stadium along with every parking space.

Spat also said he would not allow county officials to keep their parking spaces and a suite that they would retain in the new deal, should it eventually be completed.

If you’re on board with Spat’s idea, he’ll need every dime you can spare. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the campaign had to raise a single penny.

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