Taken by Surprise? M's get new competition at spring training

As the Mariners begin their 10th season training in Peoria, Ariz., they are casting a wary eye at the glittering new $48.3 million baseball complex in Surprise, opening just 11 miles to the west. Not only do they face a potential loss of customers with the arrival of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, but it happens during a spring in which the Mariners skip town 10 days early for Japan.

"They sure could have picked a better year to do that, with the new facility opening up," said Jim Brink, Peoria's manager of operations.

Peoria officials hope they won't be hit too hard by the advent of Surprise, the ambitious community that surprised, even shocked, the state — not to mention the state of Florida — by successfully wooing the Rangers and Royals from the rival Grapefruit League two years ago.

They received an encouraging sign last Saturday when their spring box office opened to brisk sales. The expectation is that the Mariners, who traditionally attract hordes of Northwest fans to the desert, will be more immune to a drop-off than their Peoria partner, the San Diego Padres, who annually lag well behind the M's in ticket sales.

"We get a good percentage of Mariners fans from out of state, and they're coming here to see the Mariners play," Brink said. "They're not coming here to see the new Surprise facility. Our concern now is five fewer games from the Mariners.

"Those five games fall in the last nine days, which is really our peak attendance here. My concern is whether people who traditionally have planned their trip for the last two weeks can be flexible enough to come in the first 2-½ weeks."

The M's final spring home game is March 18 against the Cubs, after which they will depart for Japan, where they will open the regular season with two games against the Oakland Athletics. Many spring-training travelers prefer the end of March because of better weather and the chance to see rosters that more closely resemble the regular season.

However, Lisa Goularte, director of marketing for Spring Training Tours, a Livermore, Calif., company that arranges travel packages for several major-league teams, including the Mariners, reports that M's fans seem to be adjusting. But with Seattle fans forced to cram their trips into a narrower time frame, hotels are filling up fast.

The Mariners will play 13 dates at the Peoria Sports Complex, compared to 18 last year. Their home schedule doesn't include the World Series champion Anaheim Angels, nor 2001 champion Arizona Diamondbacks, a big local drawing card. They host the popular Cubs just once, and don't have the White Sox at home.

Former Mariner Alex Rodriguez makes his return to Peoria with the Rangers on March 12, while the Royals play Seattle there for the first time on March 8. The Mariners' initial visit to Surprise will be March 3 against Kansas City.

"The Cactus League will grow in attendance this year, but (Surprise) is going to cannibalize us a little, no question," said John Richardson, executive director of the Diamond Club, the nonprofit group that operates spring training for the city of Peoria.

"If some people normally go to six games in the spring, instead of going to all six in Peoria, they may go to four in Peoria and two in Surprise."

Surprise's opening comes after a season in which the Mariners drew a record 145,000 to Peoria, despite concerns that the recession, post-9/11 travel concerns and the threat of a baseball strike might deter fans.

"In retrospect, it was perfect," Richardson said. "Great weather, Seattle coming off an incredible year, a strong schedule. Everything fell into place. I just close my eyes this year and say, 'We had all the factors going in our favor last year. This year, everything is different.' "

The addition of two teams in Surprise further invigorates the resurgent Cactus League, which was fighting for its existence 10 years ago. The crisis peaked when the Indians left Tucson for Florida in 1992 and several other Arizona teams were threatening to follow.

"Even the Cubs were being wooed by Homestead (Fla.)," said Robert Brinton, executive director of the Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau, and treasurer of the Cactus League Association. "We knew if the Cubs went, there was not a chance for the league to survive. Now it's Florida calling us and saying, 'What are you guys doing? Now you're taking from us.' "

The Cactus League houses a league-record 12 teams this year, compared to 18 in Florida. The turning point was the passage in 1990 of legislation to use rental-car tax to fund stadium improvement and expansion. They wooed the White Sox from Florida in 1998, added expansion teams Colorado and Arizona in '93 and '98, built the Peoria complex in 1994 and now have the two additions in Surprise.

The Cactus League drew 1.1 million last year, up from 950,000 in 2001.

But Cactus League officials admit that the league's saturation point is nearing, if not already here. The Twins, Astros and Dodgers have flirted in the past with a move out of Florida, but nothing appears imminent.

"We have to make sure we strengthen our existing teams before we run after new ones," Brinton said. "I don't see any movement in the next five years, nor do I think it would be good. Having said that, if teams wanted to talk, and there were cities interested, anything is possible."

The Rangers departed their isolated outpost in Port Charlotte, Fla., while the Royals left their foundering "Baseball and Boardwalk" complex in Davenport, Fla. At one point, they discussed a three-team complex involving the Astros, but that was eventually dropped.

"We were looking at any option we could once our lease ran out, and the people in Surprise won us over," said Royals President Dan Glass. "Here was a small community of people that had this vision of what they could do, not only for the Cactus League, but building a whole city infrastructure around their plan.

"Most cities wait until they grow up before they know what they want to be. They knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. We were floored by their plan, and it took off from there."

Glass says the new facility, which includes 6-½ practice fields for both clubs, "has to be the best in all baseball." Even the Peoria people can't help but admire their new competition.

"It's quite a facility," said Brink. "It looks like they've taken all the positives of other facilities that have been built and put it into theirs. You have that advantage when you build the newest. It's very impressive. One of their problems is going to be the isolation of the facility because of its location."

While the Peoria complex is located directly off Highway 101, it requires a 20-30 minute drive off the freeway to reach Surprise. But if Surprise officials get the kind of growth they envision, it won't be long before the highways come to them.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.