Crist, Florida try to reverse spring training exodus

Spring training used to be the nearly exclusive property of Florida, but a quick look around the state shows how much that has changed. One by one, teams have left us for the lure of top-notch new facilities in Arizona.

Mostly, we have yawned.

Gov. Charlie Crist wants to change that.

The governor is fighting to lure the Chicago Cubs to abandon HoHoKam Park, their longtime home in Mesa, Ariz., for new digs in Naples that would open in 2012.

It's a long shot. Reports out of Chicago suggest the Cubs and Mesa may be nearing a deal. But it's not expected to be finalized until the end of the month.

Trying to lure a team like the Cubs is an ambitious play by the governor, especially in a time of budget shortfalls and cutbacks on even the most basic of services. It would take state, local and private money, and if anyone is sure where all that is coming from - or even how much it will cost - they aren't saying.

He is saying, though, this is "more than a signal" that the state intends to get back in the spring training game. It's the start of a concerted effort to re-establish Florida as the place baseball needs to be, and not just with major-league teams. The state plans to aggressively try to lure international teams here as well for training and competitions.

"There is no question that we're very serious about this," Crist said in a telephone chat. "It's a great opportunity for the state, and it's my duty to bring jobs to Florida."

Six teams have left Florida for Arizona in recent years, lured to new complexes paid for by a tax on rental cars. They have taken real dollars with them because spring training is more than leisurely March afternoons with two innings from Matt Garza. The state estimates an annual impact of $752 million from spring training, which brings us back to the Cubs.

They routinely play to sellout crowds wherever they go. Fans follow them anywhere with a devotion that is legendary. Estimates say the Cubs bring in $52 million annually to Mesa.

Financial details on the plan are fuzzy at best. It's not just the usual stadium plan surrounded by four or five workout fields, sort of like the Tampa Bay Rays got last spring from Port Charlotte. The Naples plan calls for the ballpark to be part of a large retail development, including hotels and restaurants.

Hence, a price tag that could reach $100 million.

"It's jobs, jobs, jobs," Crist said. "It's an economic opportunity."

The governor needs to spin it that way. The Florida budget crisis is profound, and Collier County is among the hardest-hit places in the state by the housing bust. If he can show that something like this can create jobs and economic growth, he has a better chance of coaxing some money from the Legislature.

"I don't think anyone knows what the bottom-line dollars would be," he said. "But we have shown we're willing to commit dollars."

In a letter to Cubs President Crane H. Kenney, Crist wrote that if they want to move to Naples, "I will enthusiastically do everything possible to make it a reality."

And Mesa will do everything it can to stop it. Mesa has been their home since 1979, and they've been in Arizona on and off since 1952. That's a lot of tradition to buck. Then again, the Los Angeles Dodgers had been in Vero Beach forever but left last year for Arizona. Like the man once said, follow the money.

Bob Sparks, the governor's executive deputy chief of staff, said he is convinced "we're not being played to get a better deal" out of Arizona. The Cubs were recently sold, and the new owners are looking at all aspects of their organization. That's how the idea of a marriage with Naples got this far.

Even if the Cubs' deal collapses and Naples targets another team, the governor and the people of Naples would still have to come up with the money, and we know how hard that can be.

At least Florida is back in the game, and that's a start.