The Mesa (Ariz.) City Council on Monday evening approved a proposal to spend $84 million for a new spring training complex for the Cubs and is now awaiting official word from the team, which is expected within days.
If the Cubs’ board approves the plan for a 15,000-seat stadium modeled after Wrigley Field, the parties would enter into an exclusive negotiations period.
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The Cubs would operate the new complex — and make money from naming rights and signage — which would be built east of HoHoKam Park. They also would try to find another team to take over the old site.
Mesa, Maricopa County and the state of Arizona badly want to keep the Cubs, who generate a reported $52 million in revenue each spring. The City Council’s vote is contingent on the Arizona legislature approving a bill for taxes generated through tourism, and Mesa voters must approve it in a November referendum.
Sources say officials in Florida already had been alerted that a Cubs decision is coming.