Mesa to vote on spring-training deal with Cubs

MESA, Ariz. -- City officials in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa are set to decide Monday whether to approve an agreement that would help keep the Chicago Cubs' spring training home in Arizona.

Under the agreement, Mesa would build an $84 million stadium and training facility for the Cubs. The deal would still need approval from Mesa voters in November, and state lawmakers would need to approve legislation to finance and build the stadium.

City officials in Naples, Fla., are trying to lure the Cubs away from Mesa, where the team first trained in 1952 and have played almost every spring since.

As the top draw in the Cactus League, the Cubs routinely attract overflow crowds to their current 12,623-seat training facility.