The Ricketts family and Chicago Cubs president Crane Kenney will tour Mesa, Ariz., and the greater Phoenix area by helicopter on Wednesday, looking at possible future spring training sites for the team.

A strong bid by a civic and business group of Naples, Fla., has people in Mesa and other Cactus League cities shaking a bit in their Western-style boots. That group also arranged for Cubs ownership to take a helicopter tour at possible future sites in Florida.

The Arizona groups have to start worrying now about the possible loss of the Chicago Cubs, their most popular draw, after the 2011 spring training schedule.

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AP Photo/Morry Gash

The Cubs set a spring training attendance record in 2009 with 203,105 fans at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz.

On Wednesday, Tom Ricketts and his family will check out two, possibly three sites in the greater Phoenix area as a possible future destination for the Cubs' spring training home. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to be involved in presentations to the Ricketts family after they're done visiting some of the sites.

Although the Cubs' current contract in Mesa has options for years to come, the Cubs have an opt-out clause that could have them playing in a new site by 2012.

The Cubs' past contract with Mesa and Hohokam Stadium was negotiated in 1993 by Tribune Co. chairman of the board Stanton Cook and Cubs general manager Larry Himes. At that time, the Cubs negotiated a long-term deal with the city of Mesa that included a new stadium at Hohokam Park and an expanded complex with upgraded conditions at the team's minor league Fitch Ballpark, located five blocks south of Hohokam Stadium.

This time, the Cubs are looking for a parcel of land that can be developed into a "Wrigley South or Wrigley West theme." The Cubs will insist that the ballpark must have similar dimensions and many of the physical characteristics of Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The Cubs also want a complex much like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox have in Glendale, Ariz. That complex is self-contained with ample room to house players during spring training. The Cubs are also seeking state-of-the-art, year-round facilities that would include at least three major league-quality fields. This complex would be used year-round by the Cubs' major and minor league staff for developing and rehabilitating players within the organization.

According to sources, the Ricketts family may be visiting sites in East Mesa and an Indian reservation casino that are believed to be interested in building the future spring training home for the Cubs.

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