Results tagged ‘ Mesa ’
10/18 Mesa ready to go
Groundbreaking is expected next spring or summer for the Cubs’ new Spring Training facility, which received a vote of approval Monday night. The Mesa city council voted 6-0 to approve the package to allow it and the Cubs to design and build the $99 million Spring Training complex. Mesa now has a 30-year deal in place to build the stadium and manage it with the Cubs, who have called the city its Spring Training home since 1979. The city also can sell parcels to the team for the so-called “Wrigleyville West” entertainment complex.
Mesa officials and the Cubs have been negotiating terms since voters approved the deal last November by a 2-1 margin. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said the Cubs will pay any expenses exceeding $84 million for the stadium and $15 million for related projects. Scottsdale-based Hunt Construction Group was named the contractor, and was awarded $380,000 for the design phase of the project. It will seek competitive bids on the subcontract jobs.
Mesa officials expect the complex to be finished in time for Spring Training 2014. The new facility will be located at the southeast corner of the Loop 101 and Loop 202 in west Mesa and replace the Riverview Golf Course.
– Carrie Muskat
10/7 Update on Cubs spring complex
The Mesa City Council had been scheduled to vote this week on a series of agreements governing the Cubs’ new Spring Training baseball complex to be built on what is now Riverview Golf Course. According to the Arizona Republic, city official Scot Rigby said they weren’t ready, and the vote has been postponed. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and the city council want the public to see the documents in advance of the council’s vote. A draft is at mesaaz.gov (click on “Build a Better Mesa”). Two parts of the agreement are missing: one is a facilities use agreement and the other is an option agreement. The first governs the relationship between Mesa and the Cubs after the baseball facilities are built. The second gives the Cubs dibs on developing city-owned land within the complex for an entertainment and shopping district. Last year, Mesa voters agreed to let the city spend up to $84 million for the baseball complex and $15 million for infrastructure. The earliest the council could vote now is Oct. 17. Groundbreaking is tentatively set for January.
– Carrie Muskat
9/14 Future Cubs
The Cubs’ Instructional League gets underway Thursday in Mesa, Ariz., which means several of the team’s Draft picks as well as some other Minor League prospects will get some extra work and playing time. They start playing games Sept. 23 in the Phoenix area, with the Cubs playing at their Fitch Park complex. Among the players scheduled to participate include No. 1 pick Javier Baez and Shawon Dunston Jr., son of the former Cubs shortstop.
Twelve of the Cubs’ first 16 Draft picks are expected to get a head start on their pro careers, including second-round pick Dan Vogelbach, a first baseman from Bishop Verot (Fla.) High School. Also expected to participate are infielder/outfielder Zeke DeVoss from Miami; right-hander pitcher Tony Zych of Louisville; right-handed pitcher Tayler Scott of Notre Dame (Ariz.) High School; catcher Neftali Rosario of Puerto Rico Academy High School; and outfielder Garrett Schlecht of Waterloo (Ill.) High School. Others on the list include infielder Daniel Lockhart of Hebron Christian Academy (Ga.); right-handed pitcher Dillon Maples of Pinecrest (N.C.) High School; catcher Justin Marra of Michael Power St. Joseph High School; catcher Rafael Lopez of Florida State University; and left-handed pitcher Andrew McKirahan of Texas.
– Carrie Muskat
3/18 Golf tourney raises $25,000
The inaugural Chicago Cubs Charities Celebrity Golf Tournament raised $25,000 for charitable organizations in Mesa on Friday. Proceeds will be shared between Chicago Cubs Charities, Sunshine Acres Children’s Home, Banner Cardon Children’s Medical Center and the Mesa HoHoKam Foundation. More than 70 golfers participated, including Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams, GM Jim Hendry, assistant GM Randy Bush, radio broadcaster Keith Moreland, Major Leaguers Bill Buckner, Mariano Duncan, Jeff Fassero, and John “Blue Moon” Odom, and Phoenix Suns Tim Kempton and Eddie Johnson.
– Carrie Muskat
2/18 Mesa, Spring Training update
The Cubs have not picked an architect yet to build their new Spring Training complex but do expect to break ground in the fall and hope to have it completely ready by February 2014. Todd Ricketts, one of the team’s owners who is coordinating the Cubs’ Spring Training efforts, stopped by the team’s current facility on Friday for an update. Last November, Mesa voters overwhelmingly approved plans for an $84 million complex in the Riverview Park area.
Ricketts has met with the Cubs athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, and Minor League coordinators to get their wish list for the 50,000-square foot facility. The team is still deciding whether to combine the Minor League and Major League complex, or have them separate. A 15,000-seat stadium also will be built on the site. The Cubs’ current ballpark, HoHoKam Park, seats 12,500.
Ricketts has toured all of the Cactus League facilities and taken notes. This spring, the Rockies and Diamondbacks will open their new complex.
“There has been a ‘Keep up with the Joneses’ mentality with all these Spring Training facilities,” Ricketts said. “We’re less about the glitz and we’re more about the business.
“We want a facility that will be able to help us win,” he said. “That’s what we’re looking for. I don’t know if that means having a state of the art hydrotherapy table or not. We’ll have some of those things but at the end of the day, it’s simple — getting your body in shape and getting the players ready to play. It’s a simple thing — you just need a little space to do it.”
– Carrie Muskat
2/18 Cubs to salute Santo, Mesa
The Cubs will pay tribute to late broadcaster Ron Santo and host a pair of special days at Spring Training games to thank Mesa voters for their support last fall of Proposition 420 to keep the Cubs in the city.
It will be “Ron Santo Day” on March 10 when the Cubs play host to the Indians at HoHoKam Park. Santo passed away Dec. 2, and this will be one of many tributes to the former Cubs third baseman and broadcaster.
Mesa Little Leaguers, campaign supporters and volunteers will receive special pre-game recognition at a pair of games this spring as thanks for their help passing the measure to authorize financing for a new Cubs Spring Training facility in the city. On Feb. 27, the Cubs’ Cactus League opener against the Athletics, it will be “Mesa Little League Day.” The team will host 400 Little Leaguers and their parents, and include young ballplayers in on-field activities prior to the game.
The Cubs also will recognize supporters and volunteers at “Thank You Mesa Day” on March 7 when the Cubs face the Angels.
– Carrie Muskat
2/13 DeWitt arrives in camp
How eager was Blake DeWitt to get out of the snow in Missouri? He took a cab from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix directly to Fitch Park on Sunday.
“I couldn’t wait to get out here,” said DeWitt after getting out of a taxi with his suitcase, bat bag and gear bag. “I think everybody’s looking forward to this season. I think everybody’s excited about how we finished the season last year and the moves we made this past offseason. There’s a lot of potential here.”
DeWitt has been mentioned as one of Cubs manager Mike Quade’s options at leadoff.
“To be honest, I haven’t even thought about it,” the infielder said. “It’s one of those things where you prepare yourself for anything. If they ask me to do it, I’ll be more than happy to do it. It’s a big responsibility. But it’s also a big responsibility hitting eighth. You’ve got to play hard and do whatever you can do to help the team win.”
– Carrie Muskat
2/13 Samardzija ready to go
This will be an interesting spring for Jeff Samardzija, who is one of the candidates for a spot in the Cubs rotation. He’s out of options.
“I’m not too worried about that,” Samardzija said Sunday on his way into Fitch Park in Mesa. “I came into camp the last couple years with a big grand plan of what I wanted to do. I’ve done to camp and done everything I can preparation-wise and obviously a lot of guys will get a good look and it should be a good camp.”
The Cubs are not picked as favorites in the NL Central. That doesn’t bother Samardzija.
“I think we have a great core group of guys,” he said. “It’s a fun team. I don’t think you can project this team’s season just by who’s sitting in the locker room right now. You have to see how this team starts and how we roll. I think the best thing we have here is how we are a team. Everyone gets a long very well, everyone enjoys each other and has fun. Hopefully, we can start fast. I think that’s a big key to the season. Obviously, you can’t clinch a division in the first month but you can get off on the right foot, which always helps instead of playing catch up the rest of the year.”
In January at the Cubs Convention, Samardzija said he was ready to go then.
“I’ve been ready for a long time,” he said. “That hasn’t changed. I’ve cherished this last month. I’ve really laid low here in Arizona and took my time and didn’t go anywhere and stayed here and worried about one thing. It’s been nice to do that. To be down here and getting ready for camp is a different feeling.”
Pitchers and catchers will have their first workout on the field Monday.
– Carrie Muskat
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