The Pima County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the move tomorrow, subject to a $5 million buyout of the Tucson Electric Park lease.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the move tomorrow, subject to a $5 million buyout of the Tucson Electric Park lease, ending what could have been a protracted and expensive battle to keep the White Sox in Tucson for next spring and beyond.
The current proposal from the White Sox calls for a payment of $5 milion and a pledge to help Tucson find a replacement team. While that amount is far lower than the penalties outlined in the team’s TEP lease, which runs through 2012, Pima County officials seem resigned to the fact that the White Sox are on the way out. We may see some noise of a counteroffer at tomorrow’s county supervisors meeting, but the basic outline of the settlement is unlikely to change.
The move of the White Sox could dramatically change the face of spring training in 2010 and beyond.. Both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies have clauses in their leases allowing them to walk if only two teams remain in Tucson. We know of at least one outfit in the Phoenix area working on a two-team spring-training facility, and we’re guessing the Rockies and Diamondbacks are talking with some tribal leaders about their future.