MLB Cactus League Spring Training 2009 and 2010

Making History at Home-Plate in Tucson, Arizona

Mar 3, 2009

Since the White Sox 2008 exodus from their Tucson, Arizona Cactus League MLB Spring Training site to Surprise, AZ, the Rockies and D-Backs may soon follow.

Spring events and attractions in Tucson may soon be missing one most popular annual event. Now that the White Sox are gone, both the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks are allowed to break their contracts early. This means the 2010 spring training season could be the last home-plate MLB games in Tucson, Arizona's history as the site where Cactus League spring training began.

Today’s article "Rockies and D-Backs Eye-ing Phoenix..." at ballparkdigest states both teams may do just that. It appears the Rockies have at least four competitive offers tempting them up to Phoenix already. Relocating to one of the multi-million dollar facilities surrounding the greater Phoenix area would eliminate the long, frequent bus rides both the Rockies and D-Backs endure now to play with opposing teams. Twelve of the MLB Cactus League teams’ spring training home bases are already there. Only the Rockies and D-Backs remain in the historic Old Pueblo of Tucson, Arizona.

Arizona Voters Pondering Tax-Hike to Save Baseball in Tucson

At the same time, Arizona State Rep. Vic Williams, R-Tucson, is sponsoring a tax bill that is really just a repackaging of a bill shot-down last year. According to the February 21, 2009 article, “Tax Hike Vote Could Build Fancier Ballparks Here for Spring Training,” by the Arizona Daily Star’s journalist, Daniel Scarpinato, this new bill lowers taxes on restaurants, bars, hotels and rental cars, while adding a tax to retail. The estimated $15-million in taxes would also designate 10% to youth and amateur sports, as well as the maintenance and additional spring training sport parks.

Reactions from legislators and taxpayers are mixed in this strained economic time. On one hand, the end of the historic Hi Corbett Field would destroy the place where greats such as Mickey Mantle and Satchel Paige trained, and the place where MLB spring training in Arizona began. Fans would lose the uniquely intimate venue, where every seat is the best in the house, and ticket prices are so friendly that families can easily attend regularly. The multi-million dollar facilities in Phoenix don’t have the eighty-plus year history of the Tucson baseball site, but they are huge, where many thousands more people can be seated, and are more expensive to attend.

Voting to End a Losing Gamble

On the other hand, Tucson failed to keep the Diamondback’s farm team, the Sidewinders, or the Chicago White Sox under contract, after building the multi-million dollar Tucson Electric Park. State Rep. Daniel Patterson, D-Tucson, opposes the new tax bill. According to “Tax Hike Vote Could Build Fancier Ballparks Here for Spring Training,” by Daniel Scarpinato in the February 21, 2009, Arizona Daily Star, Rep. Patterson seems to see the new tax as a terrible gamble, because Tucson could pour all kinds of money into upgrades and new facilities, but Maricopa County’s wider tax base gives the Phoenix area ballparks deeper pockets to keep teams and still eventually pull the Rockies or D-Backs out of Tucson.

Tucson’s Baseball Fans Hedging Bets: Attendance is Up at Tucson Games

Fans who love an old-fashioned baseball game on real grass, in a field where they can see the players’ eyes as they follow the ball, are flocking to Tucson’s spring training season in March 2009 and already making plans and reservations for March 2010. They are taking in the history, especially at Hi Corbett Field, where Satchel Paige and Mickey Mantle once played.

Teams playing against the Rockies or D-Backs in Tucson during Cactus League Spring Training include: Oakland Athletics, Mexico, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For game schedules, prices, parking, and restrictions in both Phoenix and Tucson, go to the MLB Cactus League website.

The copyright of the article MLB Cactus League Spring Training 2009 and 2010 in Major League Baseball is owned by Lynn Pritchett. Permission to republish MLB Cactus League Spring Training 2009 and 2010 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.