Sports, Phoenix

3 more images

Home of the Phoenix Suns; the Arizona Rattlers arena football team; the Phoenix Mercury; and the Phoenix Roadrunners, an East Coast Hockey League this one million-square-foot, 20,000-seat Stadium is one of the main centers of entertainment for Phoenix. It's almost centrally located right in the middle of the city too and like many stadiums a huge attraction for tourist, which brings big money into Phoenix's economy

Throughout Feb and March, you can choose from 4-6 different games nearly every day of the week -- spring training baseball games in and around Phoenix. Teams that train in AZ are: the Arizona Diamondbacks,
the Chicago Cubs,
the Milwaukee Brewers,
the Anahiem Angels,
the San Diego Padres,
the Oakland A's,
Kansas City Royals,
San Francisco Giants,
Seattle Mariners,
Texas Rangers, and in Tucson
the Chicago White Sox and
Colorado Rockies.

Games are cheap, usually less than $10 a ticket; however, the most popular teams and times sell out, such as the Cubs on a Saturday afternoon. But if you really want to get in to a sold out game, it's possible to buy from scalpers -- and their prices go down as game time approaches, although you run the risk of not getting a ticket, at all...

If you arrive early, you'll probably have an opportunity to ask for autographs -- that's part of the charm of spring training. The stadiums are quaint -- even the newer ones -- and don't feel like some corporate monstrousity. Food and drink, even beer, is expensive, but not prohibitively priced.

On a tight budget? You can drop by a practice session. This is also another good opportunity to ask for autographs.

Years ago you could "picnic" at some of the parks, but not anymore due to heightened security. You cannot bring in any coolers or back packs or large bags or cans or glass -- all bags, even you purse - ladies, will be inspected upon entry into the park. I guess this is for our own good -- but it's just not the same as it used to be...

On the edge of downtown Phoenix lies the retractable roof stadium of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Built, in 1998, the stadium is loaded with bars, restaurants and other ammenities.

The centerpiece of the stadium is the pool out in right field with a basketball hoop at one end, so if the game gets boring they can play water-basketball.

Inside the stadium is Friday's Front Row restaurant, which overlooks the field. You can buy a table for a game (which includes 4 tickets and a food allowance) for close to the cost of 4 seats. You can also stand at the bar for free and watch the game (it is usually surprisingly empty).

Friday's is open 364 days a year, so you can come on non game days and have lunch or dinner overlooking the field, which is a lot of fun, especially when kids are with you.

You can also take stadium tours for $6. You get to see the visitors clubhouse, the dugout, the pool up close, etc. Make sure you make reservations.

Visit http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ for tour information.

They sell $1 tickets one hour before each game, but you have to enter the ballpark immediately.

Although the ballpark isn't as great as the classic parks like Fenway, it is very well done and parts of it were designed to pay homage to Fenway and Wrigley Field.

Baseball is Phoenix's favorite sport so naturally the bars surrounding the stadium are packed before and after the game. So get there early!

If you are here during the fall. You need to go to Tempe and watch the Cardinals or Sun Devils play at ASU's Sun Devil stadium. The only thing I'd recommend is you do support the opposing team, keep your cheers to your team down a little bit, it has a way of provoking the people around you!!! I don't want to discourage you from rooting for your favorite team, it's just for your safety you might want to keep the cheering down.
Your watching a football game. Enough said!!!