Mesa, Sweet Mesa
As we discussed in today’s deluxe episode of Cubscast (download – mp3), all signs finally point to the Chicago Cubs remaining in Mesa for Spring Training for the foreseeable future. Whew, what a relief! Undoubtedly a lot of Florida fans are going to be disappointed, but the overwhelming majority of fans knew that it would have been a mistake for the Cubs to leave sunny AZ and the Cactus League.
Originally reported by the Phoenix Fox TV affiliate, Dave van Dyck of the Trib is now reporting this as well. Van Dyck shares some of the details of the upcoming deal that Mesa is about to approve, which includes a brand new $84 million facility for the Cubs.
I’ve been impressed from the beginning with the way that Mesa has handled everything, and when this thing is signed they deserve the biggest congrats of all. Not that Naples came out of nowhere, but from all the reports and quotes I’ve seen from back in November until now, neither the former nor current Cubs ownership ever said that they favored staying in Mesa, despite the fan outcry and despite some huge efforts (to say the least) to meet with the Cubs in Chicago several times and also subsidize their batting cages this spring in good faith.
Mesa could have saved a ton of money and just said, “We’ve been good to you for decades. Here’s what we can offer, take it or leave it.” But they didn’t. They didn’t want to end up looking like NBC. If that’s the metaphor, I guess the Cubs are Conan. At least, I’d like to think so. I’m not sure who Leno would be. Fort Myers? Switching gears…
Sheps and I plan to bring some new coverage this spring before, during, and after our annual trek out to Mesa. I personally can’t wait to toast to the Cubs’ next 25 years in the valley. We’ve mentioned this on the show a few times recently, but if you’ve ever thought about heading down this season it’s well worth it.
We’re tentatively planning on making our trip earlier this year than normal, March 5-7. Stay tuned for more details on that. It looks like we’re going to get a chance to see plenty of new faces this Spring. It’s unbelievable that we’re only weeks away from pitchers and catchers meeting.
Anyway, congrats again to Mesa and all the Cubs fans that wanted this to happen, and long live the Cubs in the Cactus League!
This entry is filed under Blog Entries. Subscribe to the
Comments RSS feed.
Tags: HoHoKam, mesa, mesa vs. naples, spring training
14 Responses
Hannah January 22nd at 12:17 am
AWESOME NEWS! I’m so glad to hear that the Cubs aren’t leaving Arizona. Things here just wouldn’t be the same.
Hannah
Scottsdale
stewed January 22nd at 1:00 am
I was hoping they’d go to Naples. My folks live like 20 minutes from there and I’ve always wanted to do spring training
Mark January 22nd at 6:59 am
Mesa has provided the Cubs and Cubs fans with a second rate facility for years. They wouldn’t have built anything unless they were threatened with the Cubs leaving. Is Mesa just better for you? Why is Mesa better for spring training than Florida?
Lou January 22nd at 8:59 am
@stewed – You’ve gotta make the trip out to AZ one of these years. It’s definitely worth it.
@Mark – Your comment surprises me and makes me wonder if or when you’ve been to HoHoKam Stadium. In my experience it’s never been 2nd rate, and in my opinion only when the White Sox/Dodgers opened their shared space last season was there something better to compare it to. Maybe the Giants facility had nicer amenities a little sooner, too, but if you’ve seen any of the other parks, HoHoKam still outranks most of them.
They renovated it not that long ago and I think many other cities would have pointed to their past efforts instead of being as forward-thinking as Mesa was in their proposals.
As far as why in general Mesa is better, rainouts don’t belong in spring baseball, plain and simple. Every day is important, and that’s why I expect more teams to eventually make their way to the Cactus League. Also the travel times make it much more convenient for fans and players.
If any differences in opinion exist, that’s fine. This is my own opinion after visiting Spring Training for about 4 years. I’ve been to Naples and it’s a great place, too, but I would have been stunned if the Cubs had decided to go there.
Lou
Ryan January 22nd at 9:21 am
Hey, always a fun discussion since Cub fans are everywhere. I vote for Phoenix too. Along with the weather it’s part of Cubs history.
Ryan in Chicago
Mark January 22nd at 10:58 am
Mesa is better because of the weather? Avg. Mo. Rainfall in Naples 2″ in March, Avg. in Mesa 1″. The weather in March is great in both places. Only two games were rained out in the 39 days of the 2009 Florida Spring Training season.
Wait for the new ballpark and facilities that Mesa will build and you’ll see why I think the current facilities are second rate.
AZ does have less traveling. But, traveling wouldn’t have been a huge problem in Florida. 3 teams within 45 minutes of Naples and more within 1 or 2 hrs.
Dave January 22nd at 11:39 am
I’ve never been to a Spring Training Game, but it makes me glad to know as a Cubs fan that they’re not abandoning their spring home just becomes something flashier comes along.
I like that the Cubs bring revenue to the HoHoKams and to the town of Mesa. It’s a win-win arrangement. The Cubs are great, precisely for the reason that they’ve never acted “too good” for Mesa, Wrigley, or anything.
Dave / Boulder, CO
Lou January 22nd at 11:57 am
Hey Mark,
Thanks for looking up the rainfall stats, it’s not as big of a discrepancy as I thought. Another way to say spin that, though, is that it’s twice as likely to rain in Florida in March.
I’m sure Florida/Naples would have done a nice job with the new park, but I’ve seen some of the drawings for the proposed Mesa park and they look awesome. Last season I had a chance to visit Camelback Ranch (Dodgers/White Sox) in Glendale and it’s phenomenal. The new Cubs stadium is going to eclipse that.
Good to discuss this stuff w/ you.
Lou
Sheps January 22nd at 1:42 pm
Yeah, if the Cubs could play all their games in Naples the rain would probably be less of an issue.
Either way though, I don’t think Naples would be a bad option. I do strongly disagree about Mesa undercutting the Cubs though. Personally I don’t even see a reason for the drastic upgrade, but the Cubs can get it so why not.
Zorag January 22nd at 3:05 pm
Hi, guys! Just listened for the first time. I am one of the founders of BeefBeerAndPoker.com. We just launched recently, and only have the forums up (http://beefbeerandpoker.com/forum) our web page should be up soon.
I am a life long Cubs fan deep in Cardinal’s territory.
I liked the show and am going to download some of the archived shows.
Lou January 22nd at 3:46 pm
Hey Zorag, cool site. Thanks for checking out the show and glad you enjoyed it.
One of our listeners (Justin) mentioned your site in an email to us recently. It’s the best-named site on the internets. We joked on the last ep that all of those things are good, but too much of any of them (especially when you include Cubs) may cause serious damage.
Anyway have a good one,
Lou
Zorag January 22nd at 3:54 pm
Lou,
Justin (Jherky) has been named the member of the week for the mention we got. We’re trying to make the Cubs the Official MLB team of BB&P, but ran into some opposition.
James January 22nd at 6:31 pm
I feel for you nostalgia for Mesa, but the East Coast is a much bigger market, and the percentage of Cubs fans, based on comments I get while wearing my cap, is huge. I could never afford to fly to Phoenix for a ball game, but Allegiant Air from Johnson City, TN, will take me to Florida for $95 round trip and I can come back that night. After 70 years I’ve love to see a spring training game.
The Cubs 69 team must have more players in the hall than the Big Red Machine, and for what? The choke of the century? Those of us who remember will never forget.
Sheps January 23rd at 1:17 am
Yeah, there are lot of Cubs fans in Florida I’m sure. But there are a ton in Arizona too. A lot of retirees from the midwest plus the whole WGN thing before they got a team. Again, Florida is similar I’m sure, but I was shocked when I first went to Arizona by how many Cubs fans, bars, restaurants, etc there are. They used to play the games on the radio there too, not sure if that’s still the case.