Related articles:

White Sox offer $5M to break Tucson dealWhite Sox offer county $5M to leave TucsonPima County accepts White Sox buyout offer Heroic effort needed to save spring training

Other articles by Erica Meltzer:

County staff in $100K club up 87% since 2006Supervisors fret about Kino money, to file brief in Phoenix garage casePima weighs new, less-complicated system of building feesPima plans to buy 4 parcels for open spacePima County set to spend $12.8 million on land purchases Major data firm drops plan for S. Ariz. site amid power concerns Firm's input on Kino Hospital shushed Off-road track at center of Court of Appeals challenge Gate near river is cut, restored County gets role in Rosemont mine study

Health Care
BENSON HOSPITAL
RESPIRATORY THERAPIST Sales and Marketing
Ever-Ready Glass
Glass Sales Health Care
RLM Services, Inc.
Orthopedic Assistant-CMA

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to accept a $5 million offer from the Chicago White Sox to break the team's contract to play spring training games in Tucson until 2012.

The decision clears the way for the White Sox to play at a new stadium in Glendale in 2009 and leaves in doubt the future of spring training in Tucson.

The supervisors said they were not happy to see the White Sox go, but the offer provided the most flexibility to the community moving forward.

The money could be used on stadium improvements to help attract another major-league team, to add youth fields to Tucson Electric Park to make it into a national tournament site, or to fund the struggling Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority, which is trying to find a replacement team.

The $5 million was an alternative to an earlier offer that called for the White Sox to spend $3 million adding youth facilities to TEP and for the team to run a year-round youth tournament series here.

That first offer received a lukewarm response. While many coaches and parents welcomed the idea of more playing fields, they worried that the tournament model would crowd out local players in favor of out-of-town teams. Others felt Pima County could develop the tournament site on its own, provided sufficient money.

In addition to the payment, the White Sox agreed to help the county find another major-league team; promised not to lure additional teams to the Phoenix area; agreed to work with Major League Baseball to locate a youth baseball academy here; agreed to share plans and studies it commissioned while developing the youth tournament concept; and pledged to keep playing one charity game a year at TEP.

Even as he moved to accept the agreement, Supervisor Ramón Valadez blasted the cities of Glendale and Phoenix for poaching a team from another Arizona community.

"The reason we're here is not because the White Sox were not happy at TEP," he said. "It's because the cities of Glendale and Phoenix, using in part state revenues, got together and made an offer we could not compete with."

The new stadium in Glendale is being built with funds from the Maricopa County-based Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, which is funded in part with state sales tax revenue, similar to Tucson's Rio Nuevo District.

Earlier this year, the supervisors authorized the creation of a Pima County Sports Authority to work to find new major-league teams and promote youth sports, but the group has no funding source. Valadez asked that the authority be given 180 days to find a replacement team before the county decides how to move forward.

Without a third team, both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies can break their contracts and go elsewhere.

Authority Chairman Tom Tracy said the authority is in a "race for time."

"We cannot stress enough the urgency we feel," he said. "We have to do something soon, because they will leave if we do not. And they are the cornerstones of our ability to have spring training in Tucson."

Tracy said Tucson Electric Park still is in good shape and could be an attractive destination for a major-league team. He said the most likely improvement that would be needed would be a renovation of the clubhouse.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said reduced tax revenue in Maricopa County would buy Pima County some time to recruit a team, as no new stadiums are planned.

But Tracy said he knows communities in the Phoenix metro area remain interested in building more stadiums, and Pima County should not be lulled into complacency.

Tracy said authority members have talked with teams about relocating, but he could not go into detail.

Tracy asked that $500,000 from the $5 million buyout be set aside to fund the Sports Authority for two years, with most of the money going to travel.

Supervisor Ray Carroll asked for a budget accounting for the money before the supervisors voted on the request. Valadez said he's willing to fund the authority, but $500,000 seems excessive.

The final vote on ending the White Sox's contract will come back for formal approval in December, along with recommendations for how to use the money.

Several advocates for youth sports urged the supervisors to follow through with the plans for a youth-tournament facility, though they said local groups could run tournaments as well as the White Sox.

Jim Tiggas, founder and director of Tucson Invitational Games, which runs college softball tournaments, said the county has an opportunity to help Tucson be a national center for youth sports.

"The White Sox believe they are the only ones who can organize youth tournaments," he said. "They are not. We can do this."

Rodney Haas, who works at the stadium during spring training, said youth sports are important but cannot make up for the loss of major-league teams.

"I really don't want the White Sox to leave," he said. "I work there and frankly would miss the money. As far as another major-league team coming, I don't see that happening."

Huckelberry said the deal approved by the supervisors is the best the county could do.

While the county and the tourism promoters estimate spring training has a $30 million economic impact in Tucson, the county gets just $500,000 in direct revenue each year from the White Sox. That means the county likely would only get between $1.5 million and $2 million if it sued the team for breach of contract.

In a statement, the White Sox said they leave Tucson with good memories and believe the deal provides the best solution for both sides.

Supervisor Richard Elías said he supported the deal, but the White Sox's departure still is a loss for the community.

"We've come away with something that appears to create a win-win, but it only appears to do that," he said. "Today is a sad day for baseball."