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PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Diamondbacks are proposing a deal that would give them more control of Chase Field and want to transfers stadium ownership from Maricopa County to Phoenix.

The Arizona Republic reports that team officials say transferring control of the stadium would allow the Diamondbacks to stage more non-baseball events to boost revenue.

Team executives say the plan benefits all involved, but a key critic cast the deal as financially risky for city taxpayers and said it would lead to higher ticket prices for fans.

The downtown stadium opened as Bank One Ballpark in 1998. Roughly two-thirds of the $354 million cost was financed through a public quarter-cent-per-dollar sales tax that was approved in 1994 and expired in 1997.