White Sox to share spring training facility with L.A.

Weary from the long bus rides and tired of playing in front of small Cactus League crowds, the White Sox finally got their wish Tuesday: They are moving spring training from Tucson, Ariz., to Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix.

The Sox were contractually bound to remain in Tucson through 2012, but the Pima County board of supervisors accepted their $5 million buyout. So this spring the White Sox will move into a new $80 million facility, which they'll share with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Sox had been sharing a training complex in Tucson with the Arizona Diamondbacks since 1998 after relocating from Sarasota, Fla.

The facility in Glendale sits on a 125-acre site and will feature the Cactus League's largest ballpark, with 10,000 fixed seats and room for 3,000 more on the outfield lawn.

The Dodgers move in from their longtime spring home in Vero Beach, Fla.

"We are very pleased to be moving to our new facility in Glendale in 2009, and we are excited to start a long and successful partnership with the Dodgers and the city," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a release.

"With fans from Chicago wanting to see the White Sox, and fans from Los Angeles able to drive over to see the Dodgers, we believe Glendale will quickly become the most popular spring-training site in the Cactus League."