Royals, Reds considering Texas

Tuesday, March 4, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

"Of course, there hasn't been a proposal or anything like formal interest from them yet," McLane told the San Antonio Express-News on Monday during a visit to his team's facility in Florida.

McLane, who has previously expressed interest in moving the Astros' spring training facilities to the Valley, said commitments from at least four teams and preferably six would be required in order to make the move.

Texas Rangers president Tom Schieffer discussed the idea with state Comptroller John Sharp late last year.

Funding for the proposal depends on the passage of House Bill 92, introduced by Rep. Kim Brimer, R-Arlington, to allow the temporary increase of certain local taxes to fund sports facilities, Valley leaders say.

Brimer's bill was designed to allow leaders in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio to raise funds for new stadiums, but it could also be used by leaders in the Valley to construct facilities to attract baseball teams.

They estimate the cost for each two-team facility at about $25 million.

McLane, who said he has been traveling to Austin once a week to promote the Brimer bill, said he is confident the measure will be passed before the end of the current session of the Legislature in May.

"It's going to be a real battle; everybody's got an agenda down there," McLane said. "We've got a lot to build."

McLane said Valley leaders need to make some preparations.

"They need to keep an eye out for teams with leases that are about to expire," he said. "And the local people, if they really want it to work, have to get involved in it. There's going to be some state funding, but there's also got to be some local funding, too."

It's going to take some incentives to get teams to leave longtime homes in Florida or Arizona, McLane said.

Previous proposals for spring training in the Valley have suggested that two teams could share one stadium seating between 7,000 and 8,000, with clubhouses for each and adjacent practice fields and facilities.