TUCSON, Ariz.—The Chicago White Sox want to leave Tucson behind and move their spring training base to the Phoenix suburb of Glendale.
But the club’s long-term contract with Pima County requires that they either stay in Tucson Electric Park until 2012 or find another Major League Baseball team willing to train in the city.
Faced with uncertain prospects for landing a replacement, White Sox officials have instead proposed helping Pima County attract a year-round, national youth baseball tournament.
If the White Sox can get out of their contract with Pima County, they could be training in Glendale as soon as next year.
Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and Pima County Supervisor Ramon Valadez said the proposal for a youth baseball tournament arrangement came from White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf in a meeting last weekend.
The proposal is in a preliminary stage, but the idea has the potential to have a significant economic impact as young players and their families converge on Tucson from around the country for tournaments throughout the year, Valadez said.
“It’s something we’re looking at very seriously,” Valadez said.
If there aren’t three teams training in Tucson, the Colorado Rockies can get out of their contract with the City of Tucson. And if the Rockies leave, that would make the Arizona Diamondbacks the only team training in Tucson.
Already two teams are relocating to the Phoenix area from Florida—the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers.
John Kaites, an attorney representing the White Sox in Arizona, said the youth tournament is one of several ideas the team is considering as it becomes less likely a replacement team can be found in the next year or two.
Huckelberry said the White Sox presented very few details about the youth baseball proposal, making it difficult to know whether it would make an acceptable alternative.
“We are willing to listen,” Huckelberry said. “We are open to anything that is the economic equivalent.”
Officials estimate spring training in the Tucson area brings in $30 million.
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Information from: Arizona Daily Star,
