A concern of City of Mesa taxpayers regarding the proposed new Chicago Cubs spring training complex is the fate of existing facilities which have been used over the past 14 years for same purpose. These developments, Hohokam Stadium and Fitch Park, are located along Center Street near downtown Mesa. Despite some revenue from spring training activities and other uses, the city loses million annually operating the projects.
If the Cubs move on to another location in the near future, Hohokam and Fitch will still exist and will need to be maintained on an ongoing basis. This cost will be in addition to the expense of operating and maintaining the new practice fields. City officials have stated their intention to offer the abandoned facilities as the spring training home for another Major League Baseball team. While at first glance this sounds like a viable solution, keep in mind the mayor of Mesa recently said the city felt it would take $30 to $40 million to bring the existing parks up to modern standards to meet the Cubs needs. Would another team expect less? Probably not.
Authorizing the building of a new spring training home for the Cubs today exposes Mesa taxpayers to huge additional expenditures down the road.
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