PHOENIX — Just announced, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks are headed to Chase Field in December. It is another marquee event for the venue which is still trying to find time to repair its aging roof.
The Diamondbacks say the Chase Field roof has a pulley system issue, which ABC15 first reported last year - preventing it from being opened or closed while fans are in the building.
“We don’t think its a risk of danger to our fans but it’s just safer to do it that way,” said Derrick Hall, Diamondbacks President and CEO.
The team is planning to repair that pully system later this year, but that won’t fix a leaky roof, which dropped rain on fans at the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday.
“That’s something you’re not really expecting when you go to a game,” said baseball fan Trent Pruitt. “I was very surprised to see the roof leaking like that.”
The Diamondbacks say it’s a relatively rare occurrence but has been a reality since the stadium opened 25 years ago.
“When the rain comes in at a slant it’s going to have leaks at different parts of the stadium,” Hall told ABC15. “It's more important in how we address it quickly, moving fans, making sure we keep fans away from the flooded areas.”
At the World Baseball Classic, fans had to move to avoid getting drenched.
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“They sent up maybe 2 or 3 staff members but no one really engaged with the fans,” Pruitt recalled. “The fans kind of just moved around. Luckily, it was a little empty up top, so it wasn’t too hard to find other seats.”
Major events and concerts - like Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks - make finding the time to repair the pulley system a challenge, but the team expects to begin work at the end of this baseball season.
“It’s going to take some time but we do have it carved out right after the season to fix and repair the roof in its entirety,” Hall said.
The field is owned by Maricopa County, but the Diamondbacks are in charge of any maintenance. But there is a joint fund the team can pull from for major repairs like the roof.
