Not to put too fine a point on the conversation, but losing the Cubs to Florida would be catastrophic to the local economy. Now, we can put a price tag on it. A released report says that the Cubs generate over $31 million in local revenue and over $52 million statewide in tourism revenue.
The article goes on to say that the Cubs generate something like 94,000 hotel room stays while they are in town, 34,000 of which are in Mesa. On one hand, why aren't more people staying in Mesa? On the other hand, where would they stay - in tents in the graveyard?
The economic impact of the Cubs on Spring Training is enormous. If they decide to leave, the boost of all of the teams added over the last couple of years will not compare to the loss that the Valley, and especially Mesa, will feel. It's good news to hear that Mesa is on the case, but they shouldn't hesitate to turn to the citizens in Mesa and throughout the entire Valley to help.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
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You leave it up to the residents and they will make sure the cubs go to Florida. When that happens, these same citizens who ran them out will complain that services continue to fall short and less and less people come to Mesa. I know the residents have passed vital projects approvals, but Im nervous that because this is a professional team wanting to take our tax dollars that supports our city will not be ok with it. (most will miss that the cubs are a huge economic boom for our city, even if the numbers are right in front of them) I do think the Sports and Tourism Authority should shovel out a lot of money for the cubs since they have for other teams and the cubs are their prized team that brings in the cash for the cactus league. Like I have said, the city has to be extremely creative in how they handle this situation and create a vision for the future of the home of the cubs in the spring.
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