By Gary Nelson | The Arizona Republic
Early in 2012, Chris Brady had a problem.
It certainly wasn’t the worst problem he has had since become Mesa’s city manager. In some ways, it was a nice problem, because it meant Mesa was on the cusp of achieving some of its most-cherished goals.
Several colleges already had committed to establishing downtown campuses, and more were on the way.
Ground was about to be broken for a Chicago Cubs complex, and there was hope another team would want to use the Cubs’ former home at Hohokam Stadium.
Mesa had gained control of a former Air Force lab next door to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and aimed to develop it as a nationally important research lab.
The problem was all those efforts would require city dollars.
Mesa had pledged the proceeds of Pinal County land sales toward the baseball facilities, but that land hasn’t been sold yet. The colleges would make lease payments for city-owned buildings, but a lot of up-front money was needed for making those buildings suitable. Ditto for AzLabs.
