Mesa...playing hardball?

Mesa had best be careful.

about 2 years ago San Diego Smooth Jazz Man 5 comments 0 recs |

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But I don’t blame them. Could this be an indicator that Mesa officials feel the threat to move to FL is a bluff? Even with all the biased reports coming out of FL papers – I have yet to see anything concrete as to what Naples would actually offer the Cubs. Aside from showing them a planned location for a facility, have they dropped any figures on how much, how big, etc? Mesa needs the Cubs but I think they have a right to push back a little bit – it should not be a one-sided negotiation. In my humble opinion.

"Ask Dad. He'll know. And on the off chance he doesn't, he'll make something up"

by StevenABQ on Dec 17, 2009 6:39 PM CST reply actions

Mesa

IMO their approach on this whole thing has seemed odd. To spend over $600K on batting cages at Fitch Park is stupid, regardless of what the Cubs do. They aren’t staying at Fitch, and while it was a nice thought, its a waste of money unless they know a team like Oakland would move to Fitch/HoHoKam once the Cubs relocate. Secondly, to announce this with no strings attached seemed odd (why not say that the money is there for this once they get a commitment from the Cubs?).

Smith has also come out and told other groups in AZ trying to lure the Cubs to drop their bids and support Mesa. Like having one AZ proposal (and limiting the Cubs AZ options) as opposed to multiple ones will keep the Cubs from moving.

I’ve got no idea what the Cubs have in store, but to be honest, reading the tea leaves, I think the Cubs are more than serious about the move to Naples. I wonder if Ricketts wants the Cubs in Florida for whatever reason and is looking for any reason to jump to the Grapefruit League.

by dmlichte on Dec 17, 2009 7:25 PM CST reply actions

POSSIBLE RELOCATION ..

It is very strange looking about all aspects of the Mesa/Napels deal . The Ricketts group paid millions for the club . He is going to put the team wherever he wants to . Filling up seats in Mesa or a new location won’t be a problem . I guess when it’s over and done then we will see just what kind of fan he was .

by cubs north on Dec 17, 2009 10:31 PM CST up reply actions

My guess is...

that Ricketts might be a “Florida guy” as far as liking it better (as a place to spend the winter) than AZ. I wonder if the Ricketts family used to vacation in Florida and thus have made some memories which they may be trying to recapture from their childhood? I know my family spent many vacations in Florida when I was kid and I have good memories of the state in general.

However, I agree that the best option would be to stay in AZ (for a lot of reasons). One being the huge costs of moving stuff to another state, etc. the biggest asset is the proximity to other teams, tho.

If you think you've seen it all...just wait!

by CubFanSince1970 on Dec 18, 2009 8:55 AM CST up reply actions

The Cubs could leave Mesa, but stay in AZ

That is also a distinct possibility. It’s great that there are so many clubs quartered in close proximity in AZ. I just don’t see the Cubs wanting to spend valuable time travelling around Southern Florida, when they can visit a twenty teams by a 30 minute bus ride in AZ.
I just don’t see Florida as an option, especially the locale most talked about.

by Nibbles on Dec 17, 2009 9:01 PM CST reply actions