03-18-2009, 08:15 PM
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Kenney said he met with Mesa civic representatives Tuesday and had plans to meet with the mayor of Mesa today.
The Cubs have until the start of spring training next year to opt out of their agreement with Mesa, and if exercised, it would allow the team to move after spring training 2012.
``People are aware if we were a free agent, we would be the most desirable free agent in the market,’’ Kenney said of a Cubs team that holds all the major spring training attendance records for Arizona. ``And that free agency is – just like with a player – about to occur.
``We’ve enjoyed our time in Mesa, and they’ve done a good job for us here. But the question is, if anybody’s been to Goodyear [Ariz.] or Glendale [Ariz.], we no longer have a facility that is commensurate with the type of team we have.’’
Kenney said the Cubs are looking into three long-term possibilities for their spring training, minor-league and rehabilitation site: an overhaul in Mesa, an alternative site in Arizona or alternative site in ``a new state’’.
One requirement is a larger seating capacity for its spring stadium than the 13,100 HoHoKam now provides.
We want to give [Mesa] every option, and we’re going to pursue that as hard as we would pursue anything else,’’ Kenney said.
Sources have told the Sun-Times the Cubs have had contact with officials in Sarasota, Fla., from where the Cincinnati Reds plan to move next spring. Kenney wouldn’t specify cities but said that the team has been contacted by the state of Florida.
``Our obligation is to make sure we have a state-of-the-art facility, that we have the best economics in the valley, and that we’re providing a facility for our players – and not just the major league players who spend a month here,’’ he said. ``This is an 11-month operation for us. With the rehabs and other work we do – we host our international scouting operation out of here, our [organizational] meetings are done here – we [should] have a state of the art facility for all that. And today we don’t.’’
Kenney, who watched the Cubs game from the new ballpark in Glendale Tuesday before traveling down the road to Goodyear to tour the Cleveland Indians/Cincinnati Reds new facility, said the Cubs aren’t interested in sharing a facility with another team, regardless of its quality.
``We don’t want to be a tenant and we don’t want to be a landlord,’’ he said. ``We think the Cubs deserve to stand on their own.’’<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Cubs have until the start of spring training next year to opt out of their agreement with Mesa, and if exercised, it would allow the team to move after spring training 2012.
``People are aware if we were a free agent, we would be the most desirable free agent in the market,’’ Kenney said of a Cubs team that holds all the major spring training attendance records for Arizona. ``And that free agency is – just like with a player – about to occur.
``We’ve enjoyed our time in Mesa, and they’ve done a good job for us here. But the question is, if anybody’s been to Goodyear [Ariz.] or Glendale [Ariz.], we no longer have a facility that is commensurate with the type of team we have.’’
Kenney said the Cubs are looking into three long-term possibilities for their spring training, minor-league and rehabilitation site: an overhaul in Mesa, an alternative site in Arizona or alternative site in ``a new state’’.
One requirement is a larger seating capacity for its spring stadium than the 13,100 HoHoKam now provides.
We want to give [Mesa] every option, and we’re going to pursue that as hard as we would pursue anything else,’’ Kenney said.
Sources have told the Sun-Times the Cubs have had contact with officials in Sarasota, Fla., from where the Cincinnati Reds plan to move next spring. Kenney wouldn’t specify cities but said that the team has been contacted by the state of Florida.
``Our obligation is to make sure we have a state-of-the-art facility, that we have the best economics in the valley, and that we’re providing a facility for our players – and not just the major league players who spend a month here,’’ he said. ``This is an 11-month operation for us. With the rehabs and other work we do – we host our international scouting operation out of here, our [organizational] meetings are done here – we [should] have a state of the art facility for all that. And today we don’t.’’
Kenney, who watched the Cubs game from the new ballpark in Glendale Tuesday before traveling down the road to Goodyear to tour the Cleveland Indians/Cincinnati Reds new facility, said the Cubs aren’t interested in sharing a facility with another team, regardless of its quality.
``We don’t want to be a tenant and we don’t want to be a landlord,’’ he said. ``We think the Cubs deserve to stand on their own.’’<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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