[HooverDam]

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Gila River talks with Chicago Cubs angers Mesa mayor
33 comments by Jim Walsh - Oct. 9, 2009 12:30 PM
The Arizona Republic
Representatives from the Gila River Indian Community met with the Chicago Cubs about building a new training facility for the team, a move that upset Mesa Mayor Scott Smith.

Alia Maisonet, a Gila River spokeswoman, confirmed the meeting but denied the community has entered into the bidding process for the Cubs, the Cactus League's meal ticket as perennial attendance champions.

"We have looked at the Cubs," she said. "No, we have not entered into a formal bidding process. No formal offer was discussed."

The Cubs have trained in Mesa for the better part of 50 years and the city has built the team three different stadiums, but the team can opt out of its contract early next year.

Smith said he was told by the Cubs that the Gila River tribal representatives had met with them in Chicago. He said he's not happy about the tribe trying to "steal" the Cubs.

"I think it's counter-productive to the Cactus League. I think this hurts our region," Smith said.

Smith and other Mesa officials have been working to put together a proposal to build a new spring training complex that would be presented to the Cubs at a meeting in November.

"For another community to interfere is very troubling to me," Smith said. "When it comes to Arizona, I think the real risk is that we beat each other up."

Smith said he doesn't want competition between Arizona communities to create opportunities for the Cubs to move to Naples, FL., or elsewhere in the Sunshine State.

He said wealthy investors in Florida have offered to help make a Cubs move to Naples happen.

"Whenever you have that kind of firepower, it's a threat," Smith said.

The Gila River community also made attempts to land The Arizona Diamondbacks, who eventually chose a site near Scottsdale on the Salt River-Pima Indian Community.

But Maisonet said the Diamondbacks proposal never made it to the Gila River Tribal Council for approval and any offer to the Cubs also hasn't come before the council.

The Diamondbacks training facility "at that time was not a good fit for us," she said.

The Cubs drew more than 203,000 fans to home games at Hohokam Stadium this spring. Their average home attendance is 10,690, compared to 5,819 for other Cactus League teams, according to a study commisioned by Mesa this summer.

The study concluded the Cubs are worth at least $31.1 million in direct spending by fans at games and have an overall economic impact of $52.2 million on the state's economy.

I rarely agree w/ Mesa leadership but Im totally with them on this. Valley cities/tribes shouldnt be competing with each other for Cactus League teams, they should be working together and against the Grapefruit league.

Im all for the Gila River reservation adding a stadium, it would be great right next to the new casino tower theyre building off the I-10. But why not try to pick of the St Louis Cardinals from the Grapefruit league? The Cardinals have a huge and loyal fanbase, and having them in the same spring training league with their hated rivals the Cubs would be great for revenues and attendance. The Twins and Astros are the other two teams west of the Mississippi also going to Florida, they should become targets for the Cactus league to pick off, not moving around the teams we currently have and perhaps leaving HoHoKam Park empty.