Reds, Goodyear enter agreement

01/28/2008 10:35 PM ET
Deal the next step toward moving Spring Training facilities
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com

After holding a special meeting on Monday, the Goodyear (Ariz.) City Council agreed to enter into a 75-day exclusivity agreement with the Reds, an agreement that looks to be the next big step forward in Cincinnati's search for a new Spring Training home.

Goodyear, a Phoenix suburb, has been trying to attract another team to its $75 million facility, which is currently being constructed. And with the Reds' current search for a new Spring Training facility in the works, there is mutual interest from both sides to make Goodyear the team's future spring home.

Because this 75-day agreement won't officially go into effect until it is signed by both parties, the exact dates of when that period would end have not yet been determined. It would, however, fall sometime in mid-April.

Under this agreement, the Reds must stop negotiations with any other Spring Training facility. Likewise, during that time, Goodyear cannot consult with any other teams that may potentially be interested in the facility as well.

However, John Allen, who is heading the Reds' search for the new Spring Training site, cautioned fans from making the assumption that the negotiating agreement means an official move is imminent.

"There is still financing to be done and the terms of the lease to be worked out," Allen said. "But the people and the city of Goodyear gave us the feeling they wanted us out there. They sold us on the baseball facilities and the village area around it. We were very impressed with their long-term planning and the parts of the master plan they already have laid out."

If an agreement is reached, the Reds would be joining the Indians in Goodyear. The facility would provide separate clubhouses and practice fields for both teams, though both would share the same main field for Spring Training games.

Speaking on behalf of the organization, Allen put to rest any concerns about having to share a facility with another team.

"We visited the Royals and Rangers at their shared complex in Surprise, and they've had no issues," said Allen, the Reds' former chief operating officer. "The leases will be very clear as to what each team will have. The Indians are very excited about it, as we are."

Though Cleveland is set to begin holding its Spring Training in Goodyear next year, the earliest Cincinnati would be able to move its spring camp out west would be in 2010.

The Reds, who are set to begin their 11th straight Spring Training in Sarasota, Fla., can, in the meantime, extend any or all of their three one-year options that they have on their current lease in Sarasota. Doing so would give the Reds the ability to stay in Florida through Spring Training of 2011.

The search for a new Spring Training facility has been ongoing since Sarasota voters declined to approve a $16 million referendum back in early November. The referendum needed http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifto pass in order to finance the final $16 million of the proposed $54 million in necessary stadium renovations and facility additions.

In addition, as recently as last week, the Sarasota County Commission put off a vote that could potentially have given $17.6 million from the state and city government to assist in remodeling Ed Smith Stadium.

Though an agreement with Sarasota is not entirely out of the question, it appears that unless something changes substantially in the near future, economics will push the Reds out of their current Spring Training home.

"The proposed facilities in Goodyear will be the best in baseball," Allen said. "Ultimately, our job is to find a facility that will best benefit our team in terms of getting it prepared to play baseball in April."

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.