Mesa Breaks Ground on $99M Chicago Cubs Ballpark

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Construction of the $99 million baseball park in Mesa that will be the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs officially kicked off July 11 with a groundbreaking ceremony hosted by city leaders and officials of the Major League Baseball team. Located on Dobson Rd. just south of the Loop 202, the ballpark is scheduled to be completed in 2014, according to abc15.com.

The city will spend $84 million for the stadium and $15 million for associated infrastructure, which consists of enlarging and moving the lake at next-door Riverview Park, as well as other park upgrades, AZCentral reported. Mesa has a 30-year agreement with the Cubs and a 20-year option.

The 15,000-seat stadium will feature luxury suites, an outdoor plaza, a playground and event space for year-round activities. The new stadium could also be the new home of the Arizona State University baseball program, even though AZCentral reported as recently as last month that the college and the baseball team were at loggerheads.  ASU officials complained at the time that the Cubs were “erratic” and “not people of their word.”  Under the proposed deal, ASU would spend $2 million for a clubhouse and practice facilities in Mesa and would use the stadium from February to late spring.

City funding for the project was approved by voters in 2010 after the state legislature declined to approve financial backing. Mesa also felt pressure to build a stadium after Florida business interests approached the Cubs about moving their spring training complex there, AZCentral added.

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