Cubs move would hurt local businesses, fans

John Gray has been a Chicago Cubs fan all his life and deeply values his spring training season tickets at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa. But Gray, who has had season tickets since 1998, may soon be forced to give up his seats.

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The Cubs are seeking new spring training facilities, whether elsewhere in Mesa or the Valley or across the country in Naples, Fla., where the team's new owners are scheduled to arrive Tuesday to discuss a proposal being pitched by a Florida businessman.

"I just want them to stay in Arizona," Gray said. "Leaving Mesa would be a really bad move for both the Cubs and Mesa."

Gray's comments are echoed by other die-hard fans, as well as a local industry that has relied on the team's presence since the 1950s.

A relocation of any kind would negatively impact businesses close to Hohokam Stadium.

"(A relocation) would devastate our business," said Kathy Hay, general manager of Best Western Mezona Inn, 250 W. Main St.

In March, the hotel is "entirely full and all related to the Cubs," she said. "It's a major source of income and our No. 1 market."

The Inn has a contract with the Cubs to rent rooms to players virtually year-round, but their spring training relationship is in jeopardy.

"If they relocate five to six miles away, then we might retain the contract," Hay said. "If they move any farther, then there is no way they will stay here."

Hay suggested that the changing of the Cubs' ownership is a factor in a decision to relocate. The billionaire Ricketts family took control of the team in October.

"There is no loyalty or pre-existing relationship, this is a business decision ... I don't think they will go to Florida. I've talked to people who work with the Cubs, and they are happy with the Cactus League."

Leaving Mesa for Florida would hurt more than the local economy.

A recent Mesa-commissioned study said Arizona stands to lose $52 million in economic activity. The Cubs are by far the most popular Cactus League team, with nearly double the attendance of the average team, the study also found.

The Cubs' contract with Mesa runs until 2016, but they can leave in 2012 if they pay $4.2 million to opt out, according to Hohokam Stadium officials.

Mesa is making the case it can deliver a large public-private "Wrigleyville West" concept to the Cubs because the city has built three stadiums for the team since it first came here in the 1950s.

The Rickettses visited Mesa in November, touring several sites along the Loop 202. The family had individual meetings with landowners as well as city officials.

The organization also had discussions with the Gila River Indian Community involving a site south of Chandler along Interstate 10.

The change of ownership does increase the uncertainty of the Cubs remaining in Mesa, said longtime Cubs spring training public address announcer Tim Sheridan.

"It's a new era, and I guess that leaves the door open," he said. "When you're dealing in business, fairness does not always come into play."

The Mesa Hohokams, a civic organization that works a lot of the day-to-day operations at the stadium, was vital in bringing the Cubs to Arizona.

Mesa Hohokams President Robert Brinton said the Cubs and his organization have worked closely together since 1951, when a handshake agreement brought the team to Mesa. Fast forward almost 60 years, and the Cubs' decision to move becomes a much more complicated issue.

"This isn't going to be a quick decision," said Brinton, who also is the Cactus League president. "(Mesa Mayor) Scott Smith has done an outstanding job of negotiating the waters and getting us where we need to be."

A new facility in Mesa would include amenities "where people could shop, eat and stay at hotels," Brinton said.

The current facilities are lacking in attractions immediately surrounding the stadium, and as many as "two-thirds of fans leave the stadium and go to other cities," Brinton said. A new stadium would be placed in an area where Mesa could "recoup sales tax and have that destination ability," Brinton said.

The Cubs' recent actions are "a natural process and nothing surprising," Brinton said.

"Spring training evolves every five to 10 years," Brinton said. "The Cubs have the highest draw ... I will be surprised if there are not other offers from Florida."

As for die-hard fan John Gray, he often has as many as 10 family members from his native Illinois stay at his home in Buckeye every March.

"Being a Cubs fan gets in your blood. You root for them, and it's a devotion to them," he said. "I know fans who spend their winters in Mesa just for the Cubs ... some people live here just because of the Cubs."