Suns staying in Phoenix with $230 million renovation deal

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The Phoenix Suns have announced that the team will not be relocating. At least for now.

The franchise announced on Wednesday that the team will be playing in the city through 2037. There was an agreement reached with the Phoenix City Council that calls for $230 in renovations to the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

“I’m glad that we can carry on the vision that [former owner Jerry Colangelo] had and that this council had 26 years ago to get this building built,” owner Robert Sarver said.

The agreement was passed following a 6-2 vote from the council. It will require the city to pay $150 million from its Sports Facilities Fund.

The Suns will provide the remaining $80 million. In addition, the franchise will be required to spend $10 million on community benefits.

The team has guaranteed to spend $2.6 million on the city’s preschool program this year. Plus, 80% of the revenue generated by the arena will be given to the city to help with safety costs of the city.

The next time the lease will be up will be in 2042. If they break the lease in 2037, it’ll cost them a $2 million fine.

This vote was previously delayed amongst backlash from the public. The city council previously held meetings with residents to inform them about a potential agreement.

During this time, Sarver said if he could not agree to a deal, he was going to relocate his franchise.

Even in Dec., Suns President and CEO Jason Rowley informed the Arizona Republic that the team was looking for another Arena within the Valley of the Sun if no agreement would be reached.

Sarver threatened he would relocate his franchise to Las Vegas or even Seattle if an arena agreement wasn’t reached.