From todays Arizona Republic – Despite a horrid economy, there’s no shortage of interest to build the Arizona Diamondbacks a new spring-training facility, expected to cost more than $100 million and possibly be shared with the Colorado Rockies……
The situation in Tucson, however, has become tense with Hall and Pima County’s top executive trading barbs. After the Diamondbacks sought proposals for a new facility last month, Pima County Administrator C.H. Huckelberry wrote a March 12 letter to county officials.
Huckelberry, who could not be reached Friday, wrote it was “disturbing” that the D-Backs sought a new facility when the franchise “makes a private profit of nearly $3 million on spring training.”
This week, Hall responded to Huckleberry’s letter, writing that the team made less than $1 million in profits and that its facilities “have never been maintained to adequate levels” and “provided risk and caused injuries” to players.
“It is clear to us now that you have moved on and are not seeking a solution for keeping us in Southern Arizona,” Hall wrote. “I also assume you have not been working with the city to help keep the Rockies in Tucson, as they continue to become more and more impatient.”
A Tucson spokesman said the city had no update on negotiations with the Rockies.
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[...] The situation in Tucson, however, has become tense with Hall and Pima County’s top executive trading barbs…. Excerpt from: The Price To Keep Spring-Training, $100 Million [...]
We are again screwed by our local government.
good bye and good riddance! I’m so tired of these gazillionaire-owned sports teams coming and grazing off a city’s largesse, then playing cities and even states off against each other, while the losers (Read Tucson) are stuck holding debt-ridden stadiums and/or paying the expenses for continual upgrades of facilites.
These subsidies can’t be defended on economic grounds, and the amount of employment provided is very small.
It’s time to move on regarding spring training and AAA baseball. Gov’t priorities should be public safety, education, roads.
Where did city officials, the tourism bureau and anyone else get the idea that spring training, baseball or any other sport was an enhancement to Tucson? It is a great way to steal money from the tax payers and sink it into a venue that few attend or have an interest in supporting. Tucson has a historical character and way of life that is indifferent to sports and it should remain that way. We do not need to burden the average citizen with taxes to support the frivolous pastimes sought by a minority. If people enjoy sporting events so much, there are other cities that are happy to take their cash, raise the price of their hotel room and inflate the rental car rates. Please go there to root for your favorite overpaid high-school dropout who adds nothing to the nations productivity.
I would add at this juncture that the Marana spring training facility proposal is DOA! The Arizona Republic articles point out that the D-Backs in particular, and all the clubs in general, want a facility dedicated to their team only – they don’t want to share a facility with another team, never mind two others, as the latest Pima County proposal entails.