It’s close to official: the city of Mesa and the Oakland A’s have reached agreement on a lease for HoHoKam Park beginning in 2015, subject to approval from the City Council on Monday.
The deal calls for at least $20 million in renovations for the current spring home of the Chicago Cubs, slated to move to a new Mesa training facility in 2014. The Athletics have a lease to train at Phoenix Municipal Stadium and Papago Park through 2014, so Mesa will have a year to implement the upgrades. The city and state will fund the first $15 million in renovations, with Mesa and the A’s sharing equally in the next $5 million of renovations. Anything past $20 million will be the responsibility of the A’s.
Among the planned changes: the removal of bad seating at the ballpark to reduce capacity (we hope this means the removal of those crappy bleachers on both ends of the grandstand), the addition of a hospitality area in the large outfield berm, and upgraded training facilities.
Replacing the A’s in Phoenix: The Arizona State University Sun Devils.
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