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C&I heads to spring training with the Cactus League.
Cleveland Indians/Cincinnati Reds
Goodyear Ballpark
1933 S. Ballpark Way, Goodyearwww.indians.mlb.com, www.reds.mlb.com
Tickets: Indians: 866.488.7423, www.ticketmaster.com; Reds: 877.647.7337, www.tickets.com
The return of the Cleveland Indians to Arizona at the new Goodyear Ballpark is a blast from the past for Tribe fans who still recall the team’s 47 years in Tucson. The Indians were joined last year in Goodyear by their cross-league, cross-state rival Cincinnati Reds, the most recent addition to the Cactus League.
Nearby: There’s a smattering of Mexican restaurants and a handful of bars, including the Crossroads Sports Lounge (950 N. Dysart Road, 623.932.9191) and the Cutting Edge Bar & Grill (1188 N. Dysart Road, 623.547.1313). The Ground Control Coffee and Wine Bar (14140 W. Indian School Road, 623.935.2604) offers one of the widest varieties of both available in the Valley.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Tempe Diablo Stadium
2200 W. Alameda Drive, Tempe
www.angels.mlb.com
Tickets: 480.350.5205, 800.745.3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Tempe Diablo Stadium got a face-lift a couple of years ago and a long-term contract with its resident Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Increasingly popular since Arte Moreno took over as owner of the team, Diablo Stadium is a sea of red in the seating bowl; but the most striking feature has always been the majestic view of the Tempe Buttes rock formation beyond the left-field wall.
Nearby: I like to wait out the rush-hour traffic with a margarita and plate of nachos at the Marriott resort The Buttes (2000 Westcort Way, 602.225.9000, www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phxtm-the-buttes-a-marriott-resort) atop the stunning Tempe Buttes rock formation. Back toward downtown Tempe, the recently refurbished landmark Fiesta Resort (2100 S. Priest Drive, 480.967.1441, www.fiestainnresort.com) — at the crossroads of Scottsdale, Tempe, and Phoenix — features a casual and comfortable Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired design.
San Francisco Giants
Scottsdale Stadium
7408 E. Osborn Road, Scottsdale
www.giants.mlb.com
Tickets: 480.312.2586, 877.473.4849, www.tickets.com
Rebuilt in 1991, the beautiful redbrick and green-awning architectural marvel that is Scottsdale Stadium remains on the same site where the original old wooden bandbox once stood. When you look at old photos of the place, it’s hard to imagine that the little cowpoke town where it was built in 1956 has become the roaring metropolis it is today. This has been the spring home of the San Francisco Giants since 1982, but it has also hosted the Orioles, Red Sox, Cubs, and A’s.
Nearby: Karsen’s Grill (7246 E. First St., 480.990.7660) in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale is a popular neighborhood hangout with the ballgame crowd. Just blocks away from the downtown shopping, art, dining, and night-life district, the boutique-style Hotel Indigo (4415 N. Civic Center Plaza, 480.941.9400, www.scottsdalehiphotel.com) offers an affordable alternative to the predominant resort scene.
Oakland Athletics
Phoenix Municipal Stadium
5999 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix
www.athletics.mlb.com
Tickets: 877.493.2255, www.tickets.com
Not far from the Arizona State University campus on the Phoenix-Tempe border, Phoenix Municipal Stadium entered the league as an out-of-this-world Space Age structure in 1964. It remains a favorite with longtime fans of spring training and Phoenix minor-league history.
Nearby: Casey Moore’s Oyster House (850 S. Ash Ave., Tempe, 480.968.9935, www.caseymoores.com) is a popular neighborhood haunt. The Hyatt Place Tempe (1413 W. Rio Salado Parkway, 480.804.9544, www. phoenixairport.place.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/place) is a clean, comfortable business travelers’ hotel conveniently located about two miles from the ballpark and just minutes from downtown Tempe. The Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, (60 E. Fifth St., 480.894.1400, www.missionpalms.com) in the heart of the bustling Mill Avenue District is perhaps the town’s most historically popular property. The new Phoenix Light Rail system runs through Tempe and stops two blocks away from the ballpark.
Chicago Cubs
Hohokam Stadium
1235 N. Center St., Mesa
www.cubs.mlb.com
Tickets: 480.964.4467; 800.905.3315, www.tickets.com
You might as well call Hohokam Stadium Wrigleyville West. And in fact very soon there could be a new ballpark with a surrounding area called Wrigleyville West, as the Cubs are campaigning to move into yet another new Cactus League facility in the next year or two. The Cubs have called Hohos (both the old and new one built right across the street) home since 1979. More than 150,000 Cubs fans attending “home” games last year made Mesa feel like the Windy City for a month.
Nearby: Cool down in the Cellar Pub at Sun Devil Liquors (235 N. Country Club Drive, 480.834.5050, www.topsliquors.com), a sophisticated wine bar with a tremendous selection of imported and microbrewed beers. “Play Ball: The Cactus League Experience,” an interactive exhibit that chronicles the more than 60-year history of the Cactus League, opens its third season at the Arizona Museum for Youth (35 N. Robson St., 480.644.2467, www.arizonamuseumforyouth.com).
Kansas City Royals/Texas Rangers
Surprise Stadium/Billy Parker Field
15960 N. Bullard Ave., Surprise
www.royals.mlb.com, www.rangers.mlb.com
Tickets: 800.745.3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Billy Parker Field and the Surprise Stadium complex sparked the recent renaissance the Cactus League is still enjoying today, snatching up the Royals and Rangers — two former Grapefruit League franchises in 2003.
Nearby: About a 30-mile drive from Surprise in the cowboy town of Wickenburg, Anita’s Cocina (57 N. Valentine St., 928.684.5777) is a Mexican restaurant and sports bar-themed cantina. Just a few blocks down is the Rancho Bar 7 Restaurant and Lounge (111 E. Wickenburg Way, 928.684.2494), serving up home-style cooking.
Milwaukee Brewers
Maryvale Baseball Park
3600 N. 51st Ave., Phoenix
www.brewers.mlb.com
Tickets: 623.245.5500, 800.933.7890, www.ticketmaster.com
It’s always been more about the beer and brats than the baseball at Maryvale Baseball Park for Brewers fans whose mascot is not one but five sausages. The open-air concourse behind the sunken seating bowl is covered from above by louvered sunscreens, providing shade down the first- and third-base lines. The grassy berm seating area behind the outfield wall sits at a comfortable incline. If you get there early enough for batting practice, you’re almost sure to snag a ball.
Nearby: While not exactly in the same zip code, the Bluewater Grill (1720 E. Camelback Road, 602.277.3474, www.bluewatergrill.com), a 20-minute drive from the Maryvale Ballpark, is a casual eatery and happy hour hangout featuring both a sushi and seafood bar on its ground level with an upstairs dining room available for private parties. While the Valley may not be best known for its seafood, that’s all the more reason to visit the only restaurant in town that boasts a variety of 40 different seafood varieties on its menu annually.
San Diego Padres/Seattle Mariners
Peoria Sports Complex
16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria
www.padres.mlb.com, www.mariners.mlb.com
Tickets: 623.878.4337, 800.677.1227, www.tickets.com
In 1994, a three-way partnership between the San Diego Padres, the Seattle Mariners, and the city of Peoria created the two-team-one ballpark trend at the Peoria Sports Complex.
Nearby: The concessions concourse at Peoria offers a carnivallike atmosphere and perhaps the widest variety of food items in the league: wok-fried noodles, regional Mexican specialties, and San Diego food favorites including former Padres pitcher Randy Jones’ Randy Jones BBQ.
Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox
Camelback Ranch
10710 W. Camelback Road, Glendale
www.dodgers.mlb.com, www.whitesox.mlb.com
Tickets: 623.302.500, 800.745.3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Designed by HKS Architects of Dallas, Camelback Ranch is the Cactus League’s largest stadium with 10,000 permanent seats and a seating capacity of 3,000 on the outfield berm. A centerpiece attraction of the complex is a curvaceous man-made lake, which creates a public park-like atmosphere and serves a functional purpose as an irrigation source for all of its green surroundings. The lake also divides the Dodgers and White Sox sides of the facility with each team utilizing six of 12 surrounding practice fields.
Nearby: Haus Murphy’s German Restaurant (5739 W. Glendale Ave., 623.939.2480, www.hausmurphys.com) in historic downtown Glendale offers outstanding authentic old-world German cuisine in a traditional biergarten setting. The Art of Schnitzel section of the menu contains eight variations on the house specialty with a variety of 10 different German beers on tap to wash it down.
Arizona Diamondbacks/Colorado Rockies
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick
755 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale
www.diamondbacks.mlb.com, www.rockies.mlb.com
Tickets: 480.270.5000, www.saltriverfields.com, www.ticketmaster.com
After spending their entire spring training histories in Tucson, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies are moving into the Cactus League’s newest spring training facility on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Scottsdale, the first of its kind to be built on tribal land. The name Salt River Fields at Talking Stick refers to the facility’s 12 practice fields, the community’s long agricultural history, and the Pima calendar stick on which milestones and historical events were recorded.
Although it is located in the heart of one of the largest metropolitan regions in the country, Salt River Fields is also surrounded by mountain ranges in all directions, keeping with the Cactus League’s panoramic tradition.
Nearby: While dining, shopping, and entertainment opportunities abound in the busy Scottsdale corridor; the Talking Stick Resort (9800 E. Indian Bend Road, 480.850.7777, www.talkingstickresort.com) is a multipurpose hotel, casino, and concert venue with seven restaurants and four bars located a foul ball’s distance from the Salt River Fields facility.
—For more baseball, read “AZ at Bat” in the January 2011 issue of C&I.
