Brewers fan going to Arizona for Spring Training?

Buy a ticket and support the Cubs. Rent a car and support the Cubs.

What?

No.

Really.

If you haven't seen the news, an Arizona state rep named John McCornish has just introduced a bill that proposes both an increase in car rental taxes and a surcharge on all spring training games played in the state. Yes, even the ones that don't involve the Cubs.

The funds would then help pay for the state's portion — roughly $59 million — of the $84 million it will cost to build the facility that ended the Cubs' threats to move to Florida.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and his friends at the Diamondbacks started the bellyaching over this proposal — even though the White Sox got a new ballpark 20 years ago through similar methods — and they've recently been joined by the Rangers and A's.

Arizona and the Cubs will contend that the franchise is the cornerstone of the Cactus League and that other facilities are packed to the brim when its fans travel across the Valley. They're right, of course, but it bends all logic that a visiting Mariners fan should have to pay a surcharge on all of his tickets when he has no intentions of seeing the Cubs play.

And the line of other owners bristling at the thought of the extra charge should kill the idea that the rising tide lifts all boats. The extra tax could actually hurt their attendance on days that Ronnie Woo Woo and crew don't show up in the stands.

(At this point, I should note that the other owners are in the business of making a profit and might just be angling to preserve space for price increases of their own. Still, I'm on the side of keeping spring training as affordable as possible — and if you've never been, you'd be surprised how much tickets can cost — so any opposition to the surcharge is fine by me.)

That is from Big League Stew.

This is from the MSN.com.

Representatives of the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox said Wednesday that all Cactus League teams oppose a proposed surcharge on all spring training tickets to pay for new Chicago Cubs stadium in Mesa

“All 14 other Cactus League teams oppose House Bill 2736 as introduced. We are working persistently with legislative leadership in the House to construct an alternative plan that will work for everyone, including the Cubs,” said John Kaites, a Phoenix attorney and lobbyist who represents the Mariners and White Sox. He would not provide details, however.