I remember going to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ first ever Cactus League game. It was Friday, February 27, 1998, and they were playing the Chicago White Sox, the team with whom they shared brand new Tucson Electric Park. Despite it being a cold night, and having to resort to standing-room-only accomodations, the ballpark was beautiful.
That was only ten years ago. Now, Tucson Electric Park threatens to become a baseball wasteland. Today, the Pima County Board of Supervisors accepted the White Sox $5 million buyout offer that will allow the team to break their lease with T.E.P., which runs through 2012. Instead the Sox will share a brand new facility in Glendale with the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting in February.
Earlier this year, the Tucson Sidewinders of the Pacific Coast League ended a continuous 39 year of Triple-A baseball being played in Tucson. The Tucson Toros served as a Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox, A’s, Rangers, Astros, Brewers and Diamondbacks during that span. The Sidewinders were sold to a group who will relocate them to Reno for the 2009 season. The Reno Aces will play at brand new, state-of-the-art Sierra Nevada Stadium.
There will be pro baseball in Tucson in 2009. The Tucson Toros will return, but this time as a member of the independent Golden Baseball League, an outfit which operates teams in Arizona, California, Utah and Canada. And the Toros won’t even play at Tucson Electric Park. They’ll play at Hi Corbett Field, a 71-year old, thrice renovated stadium that is more centrally located in Tucson.
The future of Cactus League baseball in Tucson is very much in danger. With the White Sox bolting, the other two teams who train in Tucson, the Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, have indicated that they would need at least three teams to make it economically viable for them to continue to train in the Old Pueblo. The reality is, a lack of available facilities might keep both teams in Tucson for the foreseeable future.
Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias said, “It’s really a sad day for baseball, here in Tucson, but the economic realities of the world we live and the baseball business have dictated that ultimately we cannot be competitive in this arena at this juncture.”
Here’s what others are saying about the White Sox departure from Tucson…
- ‘Sad day for Tucson’: County accepts $5M for Sox departure [Tucson Citizen]
- White Sox’s move to Glendale approved [Chicago Tribune]
