PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks will remain at Chase Field for the next 30 years after Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill appropriating $500 million for renovations.
Hobbs signed House Bill 2704 atop the Diamondbacks' dugout as players warmed up for Wednesday's game against the Texas Rangers. Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall and bill sponsor Rep. Jeff Weninger joined Hobbs for the ceremony.
“Throughout all of the unforgettable moments and the history made here, Chase Field has largely gone unchanged, never once undergoing major renovation," Hobbs told reporters from near the dugout. “Fans have routinely shown up for this city, this state, and it’s time we show up for them.”
The bill will recapture sales taxes from the stadium and other adjacent buildings over the next 30 years and reinvest them into infrastructure at the retractable-roof structure, home of the Diamondbacks since they joined MLB as an expansion franchise in 1998. Chase Field is owned by the Maricopa County Stadium District.
The Arizona House of Representatives approved the bill in June.
“We’ve been looking for a solution for easily over seven years, a long-term solution here for Chase Field to find a way to fund all the necessary renovations and maintenance, and we’re now there,” Hall said. “It was a way to bring in that steady flow, along with our money, the team money. We’ve already put over $200 million into this facility. We’re committed to putting in at least another $250 million.”
Hall has said the stadium needs several upgrades, most notably to its air conditioning system, which is critical during Phoenix’s brutally hot summer months.
The team’s current lease with the county expires in 2027.
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Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, right, and Derrick Hall, Arizona Diamondbacks President, CEO & General Partner, attend a ceremonial bill signing of HB2704 for Chase Field stadium funding prior to a baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs holds up the signed HB2704 for Chase Field stadium funding during a ceremonial event prior to a baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, right, is joined by Arizona Diamondbacks staff, and local politicians and union members during a ceremonial bill signing of HB2704 for Chase Field stadium funding prior to a baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote Thursday on social media, “Motor Tanker Veronica had previously passed through Venezuelan waters, and was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
A social media post from U.S. Southern Command on the capture said that Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to make the capture while Noem’s post noted that, like in previous raids, a U.S. Coast Guard tactical team conducted the boarding and seizure.
Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.
The Veronica is the sixth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products, and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
Noem, in her social media post, said that the raid was carried out with “close coordination with our colleagues” in the military as well as the State and Justice departments.
“Our heroic Coast Guard men and women once again ensured a flawlessly executed operation, in accordance with international law,” Noem added.
As with prior posts, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see it as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Last week, Trump met with executives from oil companies to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
