Chicago’s eventual move to Valley affects D-Backs

TUCSON - The Diamondbacks were founded with a partial Tucson ownership stake and a plan to embrace the entire state, but their commitment to southern Arizona could be tested by the evolving face of the Cactus League.

The Chicago White Sox have given notice of their intent to move to the Valley when their Tucson lease expires in 2013, earlier if they can find a replacement team, raising questions about the viability of spring training here.

The D-Backs and White Sox have shared the same training facility at Tucson Electric Park on the south side of town since 1998, the D-Backs’ first year. Each team has a 15-year lease.

“To (White Sox chairman) Jerry Reinsdorf’s credit, he has been clear about the fact the Sox aren’t going to move until their lease expires or they find a replacement team,” D-Backs partner Jeff Moorad said.

The language in the lease agreement between the White Sox, D-Backs and Pima County stipulates that the White Sox (either team, actually) can get out of the lease and move only if it provides a replacement team that is acceptable to the county. There is no buyout provision.

If the White Sox leave before 2013 without providing a team, the county could sue for damages and certainly would use $38 million as a figure, because that is what it cost the county to build the facility.

“We would suffer in a two-team Tucson situation,” Moorad said. “We’re obviously open to helping the White Sox in any way we can to secure a second tenant to TEP.”

The D-Backs have spoken to commissioner Bud Selig about the situation, partner Ken Kendrick said, and “he understands that we don’t want to see Tucson put in a position where there are not enough teams to make it work for any of us.”

Issues would arise if a suitable replacement team cannot be found and the White Sox simply leave after spring training in 2012.

Colorado, which trains at Hi Corbett Field as the third team in Tucson, has a clause in its lease stipulating it can relocate without penalty if there are not two other teams here, Pima County administrator Chuck Huckelberry said.

While Colorado might be loath to move since Tucson is a short flight for the team and its fan base and there is no funding available for a facility in the Valley, the Rockies could use the leverage of a White Sox departure to create a sweeter deal with the city of Tucson.

If the Rockies left, however, the D-Backs might be forced to follow.

“Obviously we wouldn’t be able to survive as a one-team operation in Tucson,” Moorad said.

“We really haven’t gone that far. We’re optimistic that other teams in Florida might be interested in coming west. We would hope that being in our complex in Tucson is an attractive option.”

The lack of even a third team would create a hardship for the D-Backs, who would be forced to travel more and could face a lack of competition, since even now visiting teams often skirt the Cactus League rule that says at least four regulars must suit up for every game.

Then there is the issue of familiarity if only the D-Backs and Colorado remained.

“You’d like it, if you can, to play teams in the spring that you are not going to face 20 times during the regular season,” Kendrick said. “Getting the right kind of competition is the key.”

The D-Backs also value their time in Tucson for the bonding experience.

“During spring training, when they are living down here, they build camaraderie by being together in a team atmosphere,” Kendrick said.

“If we were training in Phoenix, many of our players live there and they would be staying in their own homes. That’s not a bad thing. I just think it’s a better thing that we get them together.”

The D-Backs would like to see more teams in Tucson, not fewer, Kendrick said, but the state funding mechanism that provided for the Cardinals’ new stadium and for other spring training sites, including the White Sox’s new one in the West Valley, has run out of money.

“(The D-Backs) have told us they are not going to leave. The problem is, if there is nobody down here to have a game experience with, it makes it difficult,” Huckelberry said.

If a replacement team is not brought in, “that would be the worst-case scenario,” he added.

“If that happens, the whole flawed funding process would have been responsible for the demise of spring training in Tucson. We’re a little concerned.”