The Diamondbacks have a new lease on life, metaphorically speaking, after the Arizona House of Representatives approved a funding measure worth up to $500 million to renovate the aging Chase Field.

The approval of the bill, which will recapture and reinvest sales taxes from the publicly owned ballpark and nearby buildings over the next 30 years, followed a prior assent by the state Senate. 

Together, the legislative moves mark a major step forward after the Diamondbacks spent several years pushing for public-sector help to upgrade the 27-year-old Chase Field, particularly the ballpark’s air conditioning system, which is vital to withstand the oppressive Arizona summers. At one point, Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall publicly lamented the wave of taxpayer assistance for stadium projects in several other MLB markets, but not Phoenix, and said, “If you look at some of the other situations very similar to ours … they’re getting strong investments from the public, and we just aren’t.”

Last year’s loss of the NHL’s Coyotes, now the Utah Mammoth, played a role among some bill supporters in the move to secure the long-term future of the Diamondbacks in Arizona, as some representatives feared a gutting of the downtown Phoenix area surrounding Chase Field.

“If they were to go away, you make the Valley, downtown, equivalent to a Death Valley,” state Sen. Vince Leach said last week during a debate on the renovation funding. 

All that’s left for the bill is the signature of Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, who’s already signaled her strong support for the measure.

“I appreciate the bipartisan elected officials and the business and labor leaders who came to the table and worked with my office to make this moment possible,” Hobbs said in a social media post. 

Next Up

Hall said he will now get to work on a new lease term that will incorporate the renovation funds, also targeted for other infrastructure. The club plans to supplement that with an additional $250 million as it looks well beyond 2027, when the current term at Chase Field expires. 

“This will be a monumental victory for baseball and Diamondbacks fans when signed,” Hall said in a statement. “We could then shift our focus to a proper lease extension negotiation with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in hopes of modernizing and renovating this public asset to a level those fans deserve.”

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, will also look to keep up, at least as much as possible, in a National League West division that is arguably the best in baseball competitively, and is certainly the highest concentration of spending in the game.

Arizona’s luxury-tax payroll of $225 million ranks 10th in the league, but division rivals Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco rank 1st, 6th, and 12th, respectively, and the Giants just burnished themselves with a trade for Rafael Devers. The Diamondbacks currently rank 4th in the division, but are just two and a half games out of a wild-card slot.

As Tight End University kicks off in Nashville for its fifth year, the annual summit of NFL players hosted by Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Greg Olsen is being courted by other cities that want to bring the popular showcase to town.

TEU has brought together NFL tight ends (75 of them this month) for several days each summer since 2021 for positional training work at Vanderbilt’s football facilities—and plenty of fun off campus. But as the event grows, it could turn into a traveling road show akin to the NFL Draft.

“We might look at other cities moving forward,” Rubicon Talent founder Peter Raskin, whose agency produces TEU and reps Kittle and Olsen, told Front Office Sports. 

Potential suitors include cities both inside and outside the U.S. “We’re debating location,” Raskin said. “If we’re back in Nashville or we’re looking at other markets. We’ve gotten interest from other cities asking us to bring the event there, and other countries.”

Follow the Money

The business of TEU is intriguing. Every tight end on an NFL roster is invited, and all their expenses are covered, thanks to revenue brought in by the event’s robust list of sponsors.

Tight ends can even bring their significant other, as roughly 40 were planning to do this year. Taylor Swift, Kelce’s superstar girlfriend, added some hype to TEU by attending Monday night’s welcome party. Throughout the week, the WAGs have organized brunches, shopping experiences, and a mobile med spa, among other activities. 

TEU makes money, but it isn’t a cash grab for Kelce, Kittle, and Olsen. “Every dollar we make goes towards the event, and whatever we don’t spend goes to charity,” Raskin said, estimating they donated $2.5 million in the first four years. “We are not looking to make a profit, so we’ve turned down more sponsors than we’ve probably taken on.”

This year’s event is bigger than ever, and has more attention, too. ESPN’s studio show NFL Live is broadcasting live from Vanderbilt on Tuesday, and TEU has added a golf tournament for its participants on Wednesday. 

The only fan element for the mostly private event is a country concert Tuesday night that sells tickets to the public. But TEU is looking into adding more ways for spectators to be a part of the summit, which Raskin said “will probably happen” in 2026, depending on where TEU ends up being hosted. 

WNBA viewership is smashing the million-viewer mark again with Caitlin Clark back in action.

A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces’ eight-point win over Clark and the Indiana Fever on Sunday afternoon drew 1.7 million viewers on ESPN, the third-most-watched regular-season WNBA game on the network. It’s also the most-watched game on cable so far this season.

It’s the fifth-most-watched game of the 2025 WNBA season, which has just passed the one-month mark, slightly more than a quarter of the year. The top five most-watched games all featured the Fever, including the June 7 game against the Chicago Sky that was one of five games Clark missed due to a quad injury.

FOS graphic

Despite Clark’s three-week absence, ESPN announced Tuesday that its WNBA viewership is up 14% this season compared to last year. The network was dealt a great hand as none of the games Clark missed were broadcast nationally on ESPN, while her return on June 14 aired on ABC.

ESPN networks will carry seven more Fever games this season, but the next won’t come until July 13, the first pro meeting between Clark and Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings.

The numbers also show that Amazon Prime Video received a gift as the Fever will be competing in the championship game of the Commissioner’s Cup—the WNBA’s in-season tournament—on July 1 against the Minnesota Lynx. The Fever qualified for the game by going 4–1 in Commissioner’s Cup games despite having just a 6–7 record for the season.