The Chicago Cubs played their final home game at HoHoKam Park yesterday. The Cubs could still play at HoHoKam Park as the visiting team. Too bad the game did not result in a win as the Cubs lost to the Seattle Mariners 6-4.
The Cubs have been playing spring baseball in Mesa, Arizona since 1979. The Cubs started to play at HoHoKam Park in 1997 when the park opened up for the 1st time. Now the Cubs will be the home team in another park, but still in Mesa, Arizona.
HoHoKam Park will still be in use, even if the Cubs won’t play there anymore. The Mesa Solar Sox play there in the Arizona Fall League and the WAC Tournament takes place at HoHoKam Park. The Oakland Athletics will play at HoHoKam park starting in 2015.
The Cubs new park will open for the 1st time next spring and the Cubs hope to be there for the next 30 years, says Baseball of Operations Crane Kenney.
The new park will have a capacity of 15,000 and a 9,000 square feet workout facility (training room and weights). When the Ricketts family took over the Cubs, he said fitness was a top target, so the big facility makes a lot of sense. The workout facility is the largest one of any park in spring training.
The new park cost 99 million to build and 84 million of that was put up by Mesa. To make sure the Cubs stay in Mesa and don’t move to Florida.
The Cubs bring the most revenue of any team in Mesa and a main reason the Cubs got their new park. The Cubs bring in at least 140 million in revenue every spring. Scott Smith, the mayor of Mesa, says he hopes more places will open up by the park (restaurants, bars, etc…). As that would bring even more money to Mesa.
Hopefully the park looks amazing and can’t wait for the park to open up!
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