Three years ago, a landlord-tenant conflict involving the Los Angeles , Chicago White Sox, and the city of Glendale, Arizona, made national news. This dispute arose when MLB instituted new regulations mandating facilities to provide locker rooms for both men and women, leading the teams—who lease the Camelback Ranch spring training complex from Glendale—to clash with the city over who should cover the costs. The disagreement became public, escalating tensions between the tenants and their landlord.
Jake Dicker originally reported on the situation for True Blue LA, and I later penned an in-depth analysis arguing that Glendale was largely left to handle this unprecedented issue on its own. A key part of my essay highlighted how close this matter came to becoming a much larger crisis.
As the saying in law goes: “If the facts aren’t on your side, argue the law; if the law fails you, argue the facts; if you have neither, bang on the table and yell.” This applies to Glendale’s stance perfectly. At the time, the city manager wisely avoided discussing contract terms and instead made a moral appeal for relief from the financial obligations. While the White Sox and pay just $1 annually to lease Camelback Ranch—prompting many to question the fairness of the arrangement—contracts don’t operate on moral fairness. Although the teams may face public criticism, Glendale contributed to the predicament and digging further into it won’t help.
Time passed and much like other stories in the 2023 season, public interest waned. Several inquiries to the and Camelback Ranch in 2023 and 2024 were met with silence. However, now that the follow-up developments can be shared, those earlier setbacks seem irrelevant.
Glendale builds a women’s locker room
On June 13, 2023, the Glendale City Council approved hiring RSP Architects to build a women’s locker room at Camelback Ranch for $106,217. The proposed 3,500-square-foot facility was expected to take roughly 28 to 34 weeks to complete and was finished in time for the 2024 spring training.
During the same meeting, Glendale signed Beacon Sports Capital Partners as a consulting firm for $75,000 to provide a year’s worth of operational guidance for the complex. Beacon’s duties include examining financial statements, evaluating usage rates, identifying areas that fall short of MLB standards, estimating costs for bringing the facility up to code, projecting lifecycle expenses for the property and equipment, and advising on potential real estate developments and valuation methods.
A subsequent review of Glendale’s city council records from 2024 to 2026 revealed no major operational issues apart from a discussion in April 2024 about the challenges of constructing a paid parking garage, which ultimately didn’t come to fruition since parking remains free at Camelback Ranch.
Meanwhile, the , via Canopy Team Company, completed the impressive 12,000-square-foot Performance Lab in 2024. This state-of-the-art facility offers indoor training labs, outdoor agility areas, instrumented batting and pitching lanes, offices, meeting rooms, storage, and advanced technology infrastructure. Designed with flexibility in mind, the lab supports the ’ cutting-edge performance science and training methodologies, underscoring the club’s commitment to innovation.
Incident at Camelback Ranch leads to lawsuit
In early April 2025, lifelong fan Yolanda Garcia filed a federal lawsuit alleging injury at a March 2024 spring training game at Camelback Ranch. While heading to the gift shop, a folding chair stacked on a trolley toppled on her, causing injuries that later required knee replacement surgery. Garcia stated that the facility’s operations director reprimanded staff immediately following the accident.
Garcia initially sued numerous parties including the , White Sox, the cities of Glendale and Phoenix, Maricopa County, and Camelback Spring Training LLC. The suit is ongoing, with Camelback Spring Training LLC now the sole defendant.
Premises liability lawsuits are typically straightforward, so it is unsurprising that this federal case—brought under diversity jurisdiction due to parties residing in different states and the significant injury involved—is still active. True Blue LA will continue tracking this case and provide updates as they become available.
Fan Take:
This story highlights the growing pains of MLB’s push for inclusivity and facility upgrades, reminding fans that even behind-the-scenes logistics can cause major ripple effects. The resolution here shows the importance of clear contracts and city involvement, setting a precedent that could impact how spring training facilities and team relationships evolve in the future.
