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D-Backs explored Vancouver as possible contingency home

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Arizona Diamondbacks special adviser Joe Garagiola Jr. confirmed that the team sent representatives to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2018 to evaluate whether BC Place Stadium could host MLB games, according to Sean Fitz-Gerald of The Athletic.

Garagiola was employed by the league at the time. Team officials visited the Canadian city to determine whether the venue could serve as a temporary home amid concerns over "the state of repairs" at Chase Field, the D-Backs' ballpark in Phoenix, Fitz-Gerald added.

"While working at Major League Baseball, I provided the team with numerous possibilities, including Vancouver," Garagiola said. "Club executives visited there to determine the reality of making it a contingency plan."

MLB provided Arizona with a list of six potential temporary locations for the team in case of a structural emergency at Chase Field, according to Fitz-Gerald.

D-Backs officials took a tour of BC Place and looked at photographs of baseball games that took place at the stadium, a government official told Fitz-Gerald. The Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, and Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals) took part in an exhibition series there in 1994.

The D-Backs filed a 2017 lawsuit against Maricopa County, which owns Chase Field, to pay for ballpark upgrades. The two sides settled in 2018, giving the team the option to leave the stadium as early as 2022 but making the club responsible for managing and maintaining the venue.

The team also reportedly held talks with Henderson, Nevada, in 2018 that caused relocation rumors to swirl. However, the Diamondbacks apparently never reached out to the league to discuss moving to another city.

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