Grapefruit League Sours - Dodgers Dump Dodgertown - Los Angeles Vacates Vero Beach - New Spring Training Digs in Glendale, AZ , Cactus League

GLENDALE, AZ – The Grapefruit League takes a big hit, and an era of Los Angeles Dodgers history comes to a close in Vero Beach, FL., with the approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the Glendale City Council today, the city of Glendale formally announced a partnership to bring the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox together to create a Cactus League Spring Training experience like no other.

The MOU confirms Glendale’s effort to submit a proposal to the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority (AZSTA) for funding to build a new, two-team spring training facility in the West Valley.

The Dodgers, which have called Dodgertown in Vero Beach, and Holman Field, their own since just after WWII, continue to realign their club's Spring and minor league operations to fit into a western region  "super market" that now extends from Nevada to Arizona to California.

The announcement follows an earlier announcement by the Dodgers that they would be moving their Class A club out of the Florida State League (FSL), and that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays would occupy the facility during the FSL season.

The site of the project is located west of Loop 101 between Camelback Road and Glendale Avenue and reaches across both Glendale and Phoenix city borders. The two-team facility would be the new home to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, and the entire project is proposed to include a state-of-the-art training facility, restaurant and retail development, 4-star hotel and 18-hole golf course.

Located just across Loop 101 from Glendale’s Sports and Entertainment District, this facility will complement the existing amenities in the area, providing additional venues and entertainment options to an area already expected to generate a regional economic impact of more than $1 billion over the next two years.

This unprecedented project partners two of the state’s largest cities in an effort to benefit an entire region. It will provide baseball fans, residents and tourists a full array of activities and creates economic and tourism opportunities that will make the region’s newest sports and entertainment district like no other in the country.

"We are pleased that these two teams want to be a part of our community and all that is happening in the region's newest sports and entertainment district," states Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs.  "The collaborative effort between Glendale and Phoenix makes this project a true regional project that will provide a very significant economic impact for the West Valley cities and the metropolitan area as a whole.  Glendale welcomes both teams, and we look forward to working together to bring spring training to our city."

As two of the highest-drawing, most well respected teams in Major League Baseball, both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox have worked diligently with city staff to develop a concept that would give their fans and Valley residents a family-oriented, one-of-a-kind spring training experience.

“The annual rite of spring training is a unique opportunity for a baseball franchise and its players to become part of a local community, to connect with the fans in an intimate environment and to provide an atmosphere where friends and families can create a lifetime of memories,” said Frank McCourt, Owner and Chairman, Los Angeles Dodgers.  “Today’s announcement is an important step towards bringing the Dodgers and this wonderful tradition closer to our legions of fans throughout the West.  We are pleased to partner with the cities of Glendale and Phoenix and the Chicago White Sox to pursue the opportunity of building a state-of-the-art Spring Training facility that will bring passionate baseball fans to the state of Arizona.”

“A great many residents in the Valley can trace their roots back to or through Chicago,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the Chicago White Sox.  “Many transplanted White Sox fans live in the Valley, so we see this Glendale/Phoenix effort as a terrific opportunity to move closer to our fan base during spring training. We enjoy training at our first-class facility in Tucson each March and have nothing but the greatest of respect for Pima County, Tucson and our spring training fans.  Through the leadership of the Governor’s Baseball and Softball Commission, the White Sox are committed to expanding economic opportunities for baseball, for baseball fans and for Arizona residents around the entire state.  We believe this partnership with two great cities and the Los Angeles Dodgers accomplishes the Governor’s goals and benefits everyone.”

Proposed elements of the project:

A private developer will create more than one million square feet of commercial, office, retail and dining mixed-use development, which will include a 4-star hotel property and possible 18-hole golf course
12,000-seat stadium, with 3,000 lawn seats
Two major league practice fields per team
Four minor league practice fields per team
42,000-square-foot team clubhouses
Workout fields
Parking to accommodate 5,000 vehicles

The city of Glendale will now move forward to formally submit a proposal to the AZSTA for funding and continue to work with the teams and private developer to finalize development agreements.

For the White Sox, the move is a relocation to a better facility, and closer to a lot of Chicago transplant retirees and relocated busineses to the sun belt. 

For the Dodgers, long tradition-bound to the Florida market the move is more of an earthquake, but one which Grapefruit League experts have seen coming.

The Dodgers once owned the Vero Beach property at Dodgertown, but had sold it back to the city in recent years. Earlier this year they announced the relocation of their Class A club out of the FSL.

 No team has announced moving into the Vero facility for Spring Training, nor has the city announced any plan to improve the facility, which has some state-of-the-art facilities but also has the very aged Holman Field, which lacks both fan friendly concessions and even shade on a hot Florida summer day.

Dodgertown has seen nearly 58 years of continuous Springs.  While the Devil Rays have announced having a Class A club in Vero for the summer, another Spring facility closer to their fan base is under construction. It is unclear that the Devil Rays' Class A club will remain in Vero long-term after the new digs further North are built.

"It's the way of everything in baseball today," said Ben Landham, a resident of Vero Beach who lives not far from Holman.  "It's not a game of traditions anymore. It's all about the money, and the TV.  We're Florida fans who love our Dodgers, but there ain't that many of us, and we're a long ways away. I guess it makes sense in the pocketbook, but it hurts alot here."