Reds' spring training deal with Arizona city is complete

It's official. The Cincinnati Reds will move to Arizona for spring training in 2010.
The Goodyear (Ariz.) City Council unanimously approved a 20-year lease with the Reds on Monday night, paving the way for the baseball club's move from Sarasota, Fla., to the desert.
Goodyear will build a $32 million facility for the Reds, which will include a clubhouse, six full practice baseball fields, one half-practice field and one agility field. There also will be pitching mounds, batting cages and tunnels, and an observation tower.
"The propsed facilities in Goodyear are going to be some of the best in baseball," Reds President Bob Castellini said.
The Reds will pay rent of $100,000 per year to the city of Goodyear. Goodyear will own the naming rights of the baseball stadium and sports complex, and will take a portion of ticket sales and advertising revenues.
The facilities must be finished by November 2009, and the Reds will report a few months later.
The Cleveland Indians were the first team to move its spring training operation to Goodyear. Work on the Indians' clubhouse is nearly complete. The Indians will begin moving in this August, in plenty of time to throw out the first pitch for the 2009 Cactus League Spring Training season.
Goodyear's $108 million Baseball Stadium and Recreational Sports Complex will offer seating at the main ballpark for 10,000 fans, including 500 premium box seats, 8,000 fixed seats and lawn seating for 2,000 fans. It will be the centerpiece of Ballpark Village, with offices, shops, restaurants, housing, hotels and a conference center.
Goodyear is located 20 minutes west of downtown Phoenix. In 2007, nine Major League teams trained in the greater Phoenix area and three trained in Tucson. In addition to the Indians, next year the Los Angeles Dodgers are scheduled to move their spring training headquarters to Arizona.