Feb. 28--MESA, Ariz. -- A couple of dozen fans stopped by Fitch Park to watch the A's work out on a beautiful spring day last week.
There were no lines at concession stands, no one pestering players for autographs, and no one waiting on the street for home run balls sailing over the fence of a back field.
When the previous occupants practiced at Fitch, a few hundred fans would congregate some afternoons, getting their first glimpse of what many hoped would be the team they'd been waiting for all their lives.
But the Cubs are long gone, having moved into their luxury digs on the other side of town last year, while the A's are holding their first spring training in Mesa, taking over Fitch Park and HoHoKam Stadium after a year of renovations at both facilities.
The A's don't have a big enough fan base to draw the crowds to HoHoKam that the Cubs did, but they're excited about having state-of-the-art facilities after years of calling Phoenix Municipal Stadium (the "Muni") home.
"It's a significant (upgrade), and the guys that have been here know it," manager Bob Melvin said. "It just puts a smile on your face every day. ... A night and day difference."
The A's will re-open renovated HoHoKam on Tuesday, playing host to the World Series champion Giants. They added the biggest video board in the Cactus League, changed the color scheme to green and gold, created a new party deck and made several improvements to the home clubhouse.
"The first thing we did was get rid of the red and blue," said Ted Polakowski, the A's director of minor league operations. "Re-branding was huge. Nobody is going to forget the Cubs in Mesa and all the history that's here. But the challenge was trying to get people to forget it."
In his debut in a Cubs uniform in 2007, Jeff Samardzija received a standing ovation at HoHoKam after a perfect inning in which he broke two bats and caught the barrelhead of the second one.
"I thought they did a great job at HoHoKam," Samardzija, now with the White Sox, said of his six springs in Mesa. "I liked the atmosphere, and the setup was great. But, new age -- you've got to have new stuff, I guess. Rehabbing (HoHoKam and Fitch) is all the Cubs really needed to do."
HoHoKam was always serviceable but did need a makeover.
Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, however, wanted something bigger, better and more profitable. When the Cubs threatened to move to Naples, Fla., the city basically handed them the new facility, paying $84 million to build it, throwing in another $15 million for infrastructure improvements and even including a lagoon stocked with bass.
By comparison, the Fitch Park and HoHoKam rehabs cost a combined $26.9 million, with the city of Mesa coughing up $17.5 million to lure the A's from Phoenix. The A's succeeded in giving HoHoKam a "retro" feel, and novice fans may not be able to tell much difference between the $84 million Sloan Park and the rehabbed HoHoKam.
"If the Cubs came over here they might say, 'Why did we ever move?'" A's equipment manager Steve Vucinich said. "I haven't been to the Cubs facility, but I've heard from some people it does not have good flow. I know there's a problem with the visiting team, where they have to park and where they come in."
Some visiting players also complain there's no real clubhouse for them at the Cubs' ballpark. Even some Cubs wondered why they were riding in an elevator with fans before games.
But fans packed Cubs Park in record numbers in 2014, and the Cubs could break their own Cactus League record of 213,815 this season.
Perhaps the biggest change is the Cubs now work out and play home games at the same complex instead of moving from Fitch to HoHoKam just before the start of Cactus League play.
"We'd be there at Fitch for half the time, and then we'd have to pick up and move to HoHoKam," Samardzija said. "It wasn't that big a deal, but it's easier on you when you don't have to move your whole locker."
The A's decided to have their players dress at HoHoKam, take vans to Fitch and return after the workouts the first couple of weeks, so when the games begin they're already moved in.
Does a new ballpark or facility really matter?
"I think mentally it does make a difference," A's and former Cubs outfielder Sam Fuld said. "I don't know if there's any correlation in how you actually play, but it does make it a little more enjoyable, a little more comfortable to come to the park every day.
"We're all kind of soaking it in now. For those of us who experienced the old Phoenix 'Muni,' this is really great. It just makes it fun to come to the park."
psullivan@tribpub.com
