Gov. Katie Hobbs cheered on the Arizona Diamondbacks in a special series in Mexico City this weekend, a visit captured on video by a fan who wanted to know: Who paid for the governor's trip?
Hobbs
In the video, Hobbs didn't provide a concrete answer, adding that who paid was "none of your business."
After the video was amplified by right-wing social media accounts and Hobbs' GOP opponents, Hobbs' office backpedaled and confirmed she had traveled to Mexico's capital on April 25 and 26 as part of a business delegation led by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
That included seeing the Diamondbacks' two-game series against the San Diego Padres, which ended with a loss before the team's massive comeback victory a day later. Hobbs "regrets" her statement that who paid was not the fan's business, her spokesperson, Christian Slater, said, noting that no taxpayer dollars were spent.
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"She believes that every Arizonan has a right to hold their elected officials accountable," he said.
Hobbs said on April 28 the trip was "in line with my priority to continue engaging with Mexico, Arizona’s largest trade partner, which is incredibly important to our ability to create jobs, enhance supply chains that are growing businesses in Arizona. ... We had the chance to engage with private and public sector leaders from the state of Sonora from Mexico, and it was a very productive engagement."
The trip was paid for by the Hispanic chamber, and the cost of the tickets originally came from the state's protocol fund, she said. The chamber is a nonprofit that advocates for Hispanic-owned businesses in Arizona and is run by Monica Villalobos, a co-chair of Hobbs' 2023 transition team.
The chamber also lobbies at the state Capitol, and that it paid for Hobbs' travel would appear to fall into a category of lobbyist-funded support that Hobbs proposed banning earlier this year as part of an ethics and transparency reform package.
The protocol fund is a special bank account that allows Arizona governors to collect private dollars to spend to promote the state and public service. Hobbs' aides said in 2023 she would transfer some of the money raised for her inauguration festivities into that account. That was after she faced calls for more transparency about how she spent the record-breaking amount of special interest dollars she raised.
Hobbs told reporters she would reimburse the cost of the baseball tickets from her personal funds, as previous officials have done. That would be $404, her office confirmed.
The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com could not reach the fan who shot the original video. Leaders at the Hispanic chamber did not respond to a call or email seeking comment on April 28.
Hobbs is the latest official to be spotted cheering on Arizona's home teams, prompting questions about who paid their way and when the perks of holding public office become freebies in search of favors.
Former Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, paid for his own ticket to the Super Bowl in Glendale in 2015. The state typically gets some tickets for hosting major events, and Ducey donated Arizona's share that year to a nonprofit that helps members of the military and wounded warriors.
Hobbs' office gave tickets from the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona to staff or donated them to other Arizonans. Slater at the time denied that taking the tickets was a violation of state law that says state officials and employees cannot accept entertainment expenditures from lobbyists or another public body.
Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick, a Ducey appointee, was spotted in choice seats behind home plate during the Diamondbacks' run to the National League Championship Series in 2023. Bolick said he reimbursed a season ticketholder, his friend, for the front-row view.
Hobbs' presence in Mexico City was in part notable given her recent support of the team. She in 2025 signed a major piece of legislation that could shift $1 billion in tax revenue to make improvements to Chase Field, the Diamondbacks' home stadium.
She did so though a handful of fellow Democratic lawmakers opposed what they saw as a handout to a team owned by a billionaire, Ken Kendrick. Hobbs' office cited the need to keep the Major League Baseball in the heart of Phoenix and the economic benefits of a major event venue.
