The Search For Another Team To Use Pima County's Soon-To-Be-Built Baseball Stadium Nears An End. By Dave Devine DEAR WEEKLY: My spring training team is leaving me. I tried hard to satisfy them. A few years ago I even built a new stadium to make them happy. But I guess it wasn't enough. They have cast longing glances at that temptress Tucson. So what should I do? --Sad in Sarasota DEAR SAD: Let's look at the facts first. Pima County officials need to reach an agreement with a second baseball team to play ball at the new stadium that's planned on the city's southside. The first team is the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks, with the current residents of Hi Corbett field, the Colorado Rockies, staying put after a million dollars of improvements are made there. Chuck Huckleberry, Pima County Administrator, refused recently to disclose the identity of that second team, saying they'd asked for anonymity. He did say, however, that negotiations are 90 percent complete for the team to come to Tucson and added he expects an announcement on the successful completion of negotiations by early June. For months the second team has been rumored to be the Chicago White Sox. Their owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, even visited the site of the proposed stadium earlier this year. But are the White Sox ready to sign a deal? A lot is riding on that decision. The owners of both the Rockies and Diamondbacks have made it clear they will not train in Tucson without a third team. Plus, the Tucson City Council made their agreement to improve Hi Corbett contingent on a third team being secured by July 1. So with the clock ticking, where do things now stand? The White Sox will have some problems coming to Tucson. They signed a 20-year lease to train in a new stadium built in Sarasota, Florida, in 1988. To get out of the lease, they would either have to find another major league team to use the facility or pay the debt service still remaining on the cost of construction. Finding another team got more difficult recently when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the other expansion team to enter the majors in 1998, announced they would train in St. Petersburg. At the same time, the St. Louis Cardinals and Montreal Expos said they would share a facility in Jupiter, Florida, beginning in 1998. That same year the Atlanta Braves will occupy a new complex in Orlando, Florida. Plus, the Astros, who may not be in Houston much longer, are the latest team looking at Las Vegas for spring training. So the game of musical spring training sites continues, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Who could the White Sox get to take their place in Sarasota? Or would they be willing to pay the remaining 12 years of debt service on the stadium there? Would Pima County be willing to help them pay off the Sarasota debt service if that's what it takes to get them to Tucson? That sounds outlandish, but given the "do-anything-for-spring-training-baseball" attitude among elected city and county officials, don't be surprised if it happens. Peter Schneider, deputy city manager of Sarasota, says talk of the White Sox leaving his community has occurred every year since 1990. He said recently the team has not contacted the city about departing and added he expects the terms of their agreement to be honored. Sarasota Mayor Molly Cardamone echoed those sentiments. She said all spring training sites are subject to rumored moves, so anything is possible. While pointing out the importance of spring training to her community's tourism industry, Mayor Cardamone said one of these days the rumors of the White Sox move will probably come true. She said Sarasota loves the team, but if they leave, her community will deal with it. They'll do that, she said, by sitting back with a smile while requiring the White Sox to honor the existing lease. As the semi-secret negotiations with the much-needed second team have been going on, both Tucson and Pima County staffs have been frantically trying to get ready for two major construction projects. The new stadium has to be ready for spring training in 1998, while the improvements to Hi Corbett are to be completed by next year. Both of these deadlines will be difficult to meet, especially with the uncertainty over the White Sox. So my advice to you, Sad, is to remember that Tucson may someday share in your fate. As many advice columnists tell single people who mess around with married folks: If they'll cheat on their spouse, they'll cheat on you. Pima County officials should remember that in their negotiations. Because without an air-tight guarantee from the White Sox, a few years from now the team may again be looking for more lucrative pastures. Temptress Tucson may have become just another discarded spring training town by then.

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