Renovated Hohokam to welcome A’s
Although you probably won’t run into actor Brad Pitt at Mesa’s newly renovated Hohokam Stadium, the Oakland Athletics are bringing their brand of baseball — made popular by Pitt’s 2011 film “Moneyball” — to town.
Mesa and the Oakland A’s are putting the finishing touches on the team’s new spring-training home, where majorleague stars and minor-league prospects will be on display during Cactus League games and year-round player-development activities.
A’s owner Lew Wolff and team President Michael Crowley were at an Oct. 22 early look at major renovations to forge a new identity at the 17-year-old ballpark, which previously was occupied by the Chicago Cubs.
For now, a Cubs-blue clubhouse door is the last visible reminder of the stadium’s past. A fresh coat of green paint across the exterior and giant left-field scoreboard topped with “Athletics Mesa Arizona” have given the place an entirely different look.
The renovation costs an estimated $26.9 million, Mesa contributing as much as $17.5 million, the A’s kicking in $9.4 million.
The A’s in 2013 reached a 20-year agreement with Mesa to train at Hohokam Stadium. The team holds two fiveyear options that could extend the contract to 30 years.
This is Oakland’s second stint in Mesa. The organization trained at now-demolished Rendezvous Park and Hohokam Park from 1969 to 1978, winning three World Series titles.
The A’s return to the Southeast Valley after a 33-year run at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Renovation added nearly 26,000 square feet to the minor-league facilities at nearby Fitch Park, including a strength-training room nearly three times larger than the team had previously. A hydrotherapy room will include an underwater treadmill, and locker rooms were designed to accommodate as many as 200 players and about 50 coaches at a time.
“This is where kind of the dream starts for these young men who come into our organization,” Crowley said. “With the renovations here, we’re providing an environment where they can develop and learn and our coaches can prepare them for that journey to the big leagues.”
Mesa Mayor John Giles said the renovated stadium brings economic-development benefits but also provides a boost for quality of life in the city.
“In March, Mesa, Arizona, is the center of the universe,” Giles said. “And we doubled down on that with adding (a second team) to Mesa.”
The Cubs this year moved into a new ballpark in northwest Mesa’s Riverview area and set Cactus League attendance records.