Milwaukee Brewers commit to stay at Phoenix spring training site

PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix and the Milwaukee Brewers have reached agreement on a multimillion dollar deal to keep the club at Maryvale Baseball Park for spring training for 25 years.

The proposal, which focused on up to $63 million from the team for renovations at the Cactus League site, can be approved at next week’s council meeting.

“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,” Bob Quinn, a vice president for the Brewers, said in a statement.

A council agenda for the Nov. 15 meeting detailed:

The team had talked with officials from Gilbert during the summer about possibly moving there, but Mayor Jenn Daniels opposed spending public funds to build a stadium.

The Brewers have been in the Maryvale neighborbood since 1998, after moving from Chandler. The land near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road had been donated by longtime area businessman John Long.

Improvements include a wider concourse, a play area for children, better parking and a partnership with nearby Grand Canyon University that would provide free tutoring to local students, the Milwaukee Journal reported.

The team would be responsible for operating the park, its maintenance and “future capital replacement,” relieving the city of those duties.

The council document said the city annually put out $1.4 million from the parks department in operating costs. Phoenix will still own the park.

Another $2 million a year from the city’s sports facilities fund would be paid for the next five years.

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