Japanese Teams Playing In Cactus League Not Yet Approved By MLB

MLB has "not yet given the go-ahead for Japanese teams to play in the Cactus League," according to Meltzer & Trotto of the ARIZONA DAILY STAR. Pima County Sports & Tourism Authority (PCSTA) Chair Tom Tracy Monday had said that MLB "already had agreed to that part of a plan to save spring training" in Arizona. The PCSTA is "negotiating to bring one or two Japanese teams, along with their minor-league affiliates, to play at Tucson Electric Park as a potential replacement" for the White Sox, who left Tucson last year for their new Camelback Ranch facility in Glendale, Arizona. MLB Media Relations Specialist Mike Teevan yesterday said that MLB "would not approve Japanese teams joining the Cactus League until it saw all the details of the deal." MLB has had discussions with the PCSTA about Japanese teams playing spring-training games in Arizona, but the league has "not officially approved the concept." Teevan said that MLB "would make a decision after it receives finalized details." Tracy and PCSTA President Dan Schneider "plan to go to Japan later this year to meet with teams interested in playing in Tucson, perhaps as soon as 2010." Among the details that "would need to be worked out are how broadcast revenues would be shared and the game schedule." Japanese Spring Training "starts and ends two weeks earlier than American spring training" (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 4/1).