Orioles Being Wooed By Cactus League

[michned]

**Edit: Sorry, meant to post in Talking Baseball.

Sorry for a Spring Training thread in the middle of summer, but this made news down here this week. Specifically, the Orioles are being courted as the Sox replacement in Tucson/Pima County, eventually moving to the three team facility that is on the drawing board for Marana.

I can't see why an east coast team would want to train in Arizona, but anything for money I guess. Also, perhaps it is just a ploy by the Orioles to get a better deal from one of the Florida cities.

Link (http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/295798.php) (might have to register)

[PKalltheway]

Sorry if I am being naive, but how is it that Arizona towns and cities have so much more money to throw around than Florida towns and cities for Spring Training? Where is this sudden surge of money coming from in Arizona in recent years that Florida does not have?

[Southsider101]

With 12 teams based in the Phoenix area and two more in Tucson, I think the real reason is travel time. Why spend a whole day traveling across Florida to play one game when one can schedule any number of teams in Phoenix that are within a one hour drive. Not to mention the fact that the facilities in AZ are newer.