The Dodgers in Metro Phoenix makes a lot more sense than in Florida. It's a 5-6 hour drive for Dodgers fans.
PLAY BALL! 
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diam...ium-ON-CP.html
Glendale working to lure Dodgers to Arizona
Ken Alltucker and Carrie Watters
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 13, 2006 09:08 PM
The Los Angeles Dodgers are negotiating a deal with the city of Glendale to relocate the storied baseball franchise's spring training operations from Florida to a new publicly financed stadium in the Valley that could be shared with the Chicago White Sox.
Glendale city politicians were hammering out the stadium agreement in a closed-door meeting on Monday, and financing and other details will not be made public until later this week.
A Cactus League stadium would add to Glendale's professional sports lineup that includes an arena for the Coyotes hockey team and the Arizona Cardinals' University of Phoenix Stadium, which will host college football's championship in January and the Super Bowl in 2008.
But several hurdles remain before Major League Baseball comes to Glendale.
Glendale City Council will meet Wednesday to discuss and potentially act on the plan; the Dodgers and White Sox must execute formal agreements with the city and possibly a private developer; and state funds could be difficult to come by.
The city of Goodyear and the Cleveland Indians also are seeking money from the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority to build a $77.5 million spring training stadium. The plan has been endorsed by every major West Valley city except Glendale. The state will hold a public hearing Friday to begin considering the Goodyear/Indians' proposal.
Dodgers officials met Monday with Indian River County officials to discuss the team's proposal to relocate from Vero Beach, Fla. to Glendale.
"We're saddened by this," said Joseph Baird, Indian River County Administrator. "We've had a great relationship with the Dodgers for 58 years. Unfortunately, they have had to make a business decision."
The Dodgers would not discuss their plans publicly other than to confirm talks with Glendale over a memorandum of understanding to move to a new stadium. The team will "explore all options," said Camille Johnston, the Dodgers' senior vice president of communications.
The Dodgers have played spring training ball at "Dodgertown" stadium in Vero Beach, Fla. since 1948, a year after Jackie Robinson became the first African-American major leaguer and nine years before the team moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
The team's fan base gravitated West, too, and a Spring Training facility within a six-hour drive of the team's home stadium makes more sense than remaining in Florida.
"They are dealing with Arizona because they're a team from the West Coast," said Michael Zito, Indian River County's assistant county administrator who met Dodgers' officials Monday.
The Dodgers' stadium lease with Indian River County does not expire until 2021. The Dodgers have the option of opting out of the lease if the team buys the stadium or pays off the county's bonds.
A deal to relocate the Chicago White Sox from their spring training home at Tucson Electric Park to a new stadium could be more problematic. The the team leaves Tucson, it must find a replacement major league team.
"Glendale has come to us," said Scott Reifert, the White Sox vice president of communications. "It's not done out of any dissatisfaction we have with Pima County. We have a first-class facility there."
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who lives in the Valley, called Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckleberry on Friday to let him know a proposal to move could be forthcoming.
Still Huckleberry, who helped negotiate the deal that brought the White Sox to Arizona in 1998, said he's not too worried as he has a contract with the team that runs through 2013.
In the contract, the Chicago ball club must satisfy the county with a replacement team if they opt to leave early, Huckleberry said.
He could not speculate who the White Sox might offer as a replacement.
"That's up to them (the White Sox) to bring someone who is acceptable, similar in economic impact and appealing to the folks of Tucson," he said.
Pima County spent $38 million to build Tucson Electric Park as home to the White Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tucson also hosts the Colorado Rockies at the county's older Hi Corbett Field.
Huckleberry nixed speculation that the Rockies could be offered as the replacement team. "That doesn't do us any good," he said.
Huckleberry said he did not begrudge Glendale's negotiations. "It's just that everyone has to understand that we have a contractual relationship with the White Sox. That contract does all the talking for us," he said.
Southern Arizona business leaders have questioned the use of public funds to move a baseball team from one part of the state to another.
"Why would the state's sports authority want to build a stadium to lure a team out of Tucson? We're part of the state, too," said Jack Camper, President of Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Camper said losing the White Sox would harm Tucson-area hotels, restaurants and shops.
"Let's face it, they were the world champions last year. When the White Sox play, the stadium is pretty well filled up. It draws a lot of tourism revenue and it draws a lot of ink," Camper said.
Gov. Janet Napolitano has previously spoke against Arizona cities recruiting teams from other cities with Cactus League teams.
"We'd prefer not to see cities battling with one another over Cactus League teams," said Jeanine L'Ecuyer, spokeswoman in the governor's office. "But they generally don't check with us."
City officials have kept mum about the exact location and financial aspects of the deal. Unlike Goodyear who got voter approval in 2004 for $10 million worth of bonds to go toward construction of a ballpark, Glendale has not.
The city provided a $180 million subsidy to build Jobing.com Arena for the Phoenix Coyotes, its first major sporting venue.
They chipped in far less, about $9.5 for the Cardinal's stadium. The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, funded by a rental car and hotel tax, covered the majority of that project, contributing nearly $300 million.
The sports authority also was created to refurbish and build the county's Cactus League facilities, the two newest facilities in Peoria and Surprise.
Officials with the sports authority previously had said they have about $48 million left to pledge to one more spring training facility, preferably a two-team facility.
That could change as the authority analyzes whether it gained any flexibility as it recently refinanced bonds, Board Chairman Larry Landry
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Plus, it'd fullfill the TSA's desire for a two team facility...
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