FanPost

A's move from their long time home finally approved!

Yes the move none of us was really anticipating or even waiting for was finally approved. The A's and the Mesa, Arizona city council have signed a memorandum of understanding that the A's will be moving to Mesa's HoHoKam Stadium and the Fitch Park Training Center for the 2015 spring training season. The A's will be abandoning their long time home at old Phoenix Municipal Stadium and run down Papago Park and will be moving to the 30 year newer facility in Mesa that is currently home to the Chicago Cubs (the Cubs meanwhile will be moving into a new facility they're calling "Wrigleyville West" being constructed in Mesa in time for the 2014 spring season). The A's are going to be signing a 20 year lease on the HoHoKam and Fitch facilities with two 5 years renewal options meaning they'd be playing there until at least 2035 giving the A's some long needed facility stability.

While HoHoKam Park isn't brand new, it is only about 15 years old, having opened in 1997 (Phoenix Muni is the Cactus League's oldest park having opened in 1964). And it shows in the design, where HoHoKam has an actual video board, grass berm seating in the outfield (which is very popular among all other Cactus League stadiums other than Phoenix Muni), more concession stands, more tip up seating as opposed to benches than Phoenix, etc... On top of that the city of Mesa has agreed to pay for $15 million in upgrades to HoHoKam and Fitch Park including new center field concessions and the removal of a number of seats down the lines that the A's won't need (the Cubs draw some of the Cactus League's largest spring crowds with hoards of cold Chicagoans escaping to the Southwest for the warmth, the A's not so much). If further upgrades are needed beyond that the city and the A's will split the cost up to an additional $5 million.

All in all while it will be sad to see the beautiful views of Papago Park vanish from behind the outfield wall and it also moves the A's farther out from central Phoenix and the airport, this move will also take the A's out of the Cactus League's oldest, most derided, and most run down municipally owned stadium and put them into the equivalent of a very nice used car that the Cubs are abandoning over in Mesa. So if you've been waiting to see a game at Phoenix Muni and want to take in a game where the A's have been spending their springs for the last 29 years, now is the time because it will soon be too late.

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HoHoKam Stadium