Tenant: Arizona Diamondbacks
Opening: March 31, 1998
Construction began: November 16, 1995
Style: Convertible roof
Surface: Kentucky Blue Grass (1999); Anza grass (1998)
Capacity: 48,569 (baseball only)

Architect: Ellerbe Becket (Minneapolis), Bill Johnson (design principal).
Construction: Huber, Hunt & Nichols Inc. (Indianapolis).
Owner: Maricopa County Stadium District.
Cost: $349 million (some estimates put the cost at $414 million).
Public financing: $238 million, or 68 percent, from a quarter-cent sales tax in Maricopa County.
Private financing: $111 million, or 32 percent, from the Diamondbacks owners.

Arizona Diamondbacks tickets:

• Viewpoint Tickets - Best prices on Diamondbacks tickets, MLB tickets and MLB All Star tickets.

Location: In downtown Phoenix. Third base / left field (W), Fourth Street; center field (N), Jefferson Street; first base / right field (E), Seventh Street; home plate (S), Southern Pacific railroad tracks.

Dimensions: Left field: 330 ft., power alleys: 374 ft., center field: 407 ft., deepest left-center and right-center: 413 ft., right field: 334 ft.

Fences: Unknown.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, a 1998 MLB expansion team, play at Chase Field. Located in downtown Phoenix, on a site bounded by Fourth Street to the west, Seventh Street on the north and the Southern Pacific railroad tracks on the south, the ballpark is a state-of-the-art, retractable dome with a natural grass playing surface. The ballpark is owned by the Maricopa County Stadium District, which is governed by the county Board of Supervisors, and operated by an affiliate of the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks occupy Chase Field pursuant to the terms of a 30-year license agreement. At the Diamondbacks' option, the lease can be extended for an additional 10 years. The Diamondbacks enjoy priority usage of Chase Field and retain all baseball-related revenues. In addition, the Diamondbacks' affiliate receives a percentage of revenue from non-baseball revenue producing events held in Chase Field.

Funding for the construction of Chase Field came from an increase in the general sales tax in Maricopa County. The sales tax was increased one-quarter of one cent and became effective April 1, 1995. It is estimated to have generated $70-$75 million annually. The amount of revenue to be raised by the tax was capped at $238 million. The construction manager for the project was Huber, Hunt & Nichols, Inc. The project architect was Ellerbe Becket, Inc., designers of such facilities as Atlanta's Olympic Stadium, the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., Boston's Fleet Center and the construction of Madison Square Garden.

Eighty-five percent of Chase Field's 48,569 seats are located between the foul poles. There are 69 luxury suites located at the mid-level of Chase Field, as well as six additional party suites. The roof opens to various positions to make sure a proper amount of sunlight hits the natural turf without heating the concrete and metal within the stadium, thus allowing it to cool quickly and efficiently. With the roof in the closed position, the minimum height over the playing surface is 180 feet and the maximum height is 200 feet. The 17,000 square foot, state-of-the-art press facility is designed to accommodate the needs of both the electronic and print media. The Diamondbacks also have state-of-the-art practice facilities, including batting cages and pitching mounds within the stadium itself. A 1,500-car garage is constructed adjacent to the stadium. A parking and traffic circulation study conducted for the Maricopa County Stadium District identified approximately 18,600 parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the stadium.

Originally called Bank One Ballpark, the stadium's name was changed to Chase Field on September 23, 2005. Bank One Corporation, which owned the naming rights to the stadium, merged with J.P. Morgan Chase & Company in 2004.

More on Chase Field:

• Seating chart

Recommended Reading (bibliography):

• Big League, Big Time: The Birth of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Billion-Dollar Business of Sports, and the Power of the Media in America by Len Sherman.
• Fodor's Baseball Vacations, 3rd Edition: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major League Ballparks Across America by Bruce Adams and Margaret Engel.
• The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip: A Fan's Guide to Major League Stadiums by Joshua Pahigian and Kevin O'Connell.
• Joe Mock's Ballpark Guide by Joe Mock.
• Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Tour of Baseball Parks Past and Present by Josh Leventhal and Jessica Macmurray.
• The Ballpark Book: A Journey Through the Fields of Baseball Magic (Revised Edition) by Ron Smith and Kevin Belford.
• Ballparks: A Panoramic History by Marc Sandalow and Jim Sutton.
• Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit (2nd Edition) by Joanna Cagan and Neil deMause.
• Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battle over Building Sports Stadiums by Kevin J. Delaney and Rick Eckstein.
• Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums by Roger G. Noll and Andrew Zimbalist.
• Modern Marvels - Domed Stadiums (VHS).