By Gary Nelson |The Arizona Republic
Mesa has reached a final agreement for the Oakland Athletics to return their spring training operations to the city beginning in 2015.
The deal is expected to receive approval Monday from the City Council, which was briefed during Thursday’s study session.
That meeting brought another piece of baseball news to Mesa: The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority this week approved an $8.2 million allocation for renovating Hohokam Stadium to accommodate the A’s.
Oakland trained in Mesa for 10 years beginning in 1969 before moving to Scottsdale and then to Phoenix.
Hohokam and Fitch Park, a few blocks south of the stadium, currently serve the Chicago Cubs who will move next year to a new stadium near Loops 101 and 202.
Mesa built the current stadium for the Cubs 16 years ago, spending $28 million in the process.
