A brief story I just found from the 12/2/04 issues of Tucson Weekly:

 

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STUCK SOX

It appears the Chicago White Sox will stick around their Tucson spring training home a little longer than expected. Anaheim Angels owner Arte Moreno, a Rincon High grad, made a surprise move recently to keep his club training at Tempe's Diablo Stadium through 2025.

Moreno had been expected to pull the Angels from Tempe and have them train on the other side of Phoenix at his development land in Goodyear. That city passed $10 million in bonds for a new stadium for the Angels. Ask anyone familiar with Pima County's roughly $40 million spring training complex at Kino Sports Park, and you'll see that $10 million doesn't go far enough.

 

Moreno and the Angels will get upgrades in Tempe, including four lighted ball fields in 2006.

 

That will keep the White Sox, spring training tenants along with the Arizona Diamondbacks in Tucson since 1998, playing their spring training games at Tucson Electric Park for awhile. Or at least until owner Jerry Reinsdorf can latch onto another plan that would allow his team to play in front of the bigger flock of Chicago snowbirds in the Phoenix area.

 

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My understanding is the White Sox have a lease at Tucson Electric Park through the 2012 spring training season. They have an out clause only if they can find another team to take over the lease.

 

For the time being, most if not all teams in Florida are pretty happy with their situation and have no intention of leaving for Arizona. Cleveland just signed a 5 year extension in Florida.

 

Look for the Sox to stay in Tucson for a couple more years until the rumors start resurfacing about a move to Phoenix.

Scottsdale is where the Sox will end up. Rumor is they are thinking about having two stadiums, even after they spend all this extra money on the new facilities for the Giants.