Greg Bryan/Arizona Daily Star
Butts in the seats at Tucson Electric Park meant bucks in the till for Tucson.

The bull known as spring training in Tucson just took a lance to the neck. A couple more banderillas to the beast and we may be witness to the torturous death of spring training in Tucson.

A mere $5 million dollars is all it took for the Pima County Board of Supervisors to let the Chicago White Sox off the hook. The board apparently reasoned that having $5 million to spend now (on what?) is better for Tucson than enjoying the economic benefit of spring training for another four years.

The board also apparently didn’t think it was worth the effort to hold out for more cash. We need a better agent. After all, $5 million is what the White Sox paid Octavio Dotel last year.

Now that the White Sox are gone, time and money will be wasted trying to attract a replacement team to Tucson. Good luck with that. Tucson is a tough sell. The Old Pueblo may even lose its reliable cash cow, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.

All eyes will be on the effort to replace the White Sox, but none will be more focused than those of the Rockies and Diamondbacks. Expect those teams to bolt soon. What could possibly entice them to remain in Tucson?

Mudville Poll