History
In 1982, Chandler mayor Jim Patterson first approached the Brewers about moving their spring training facility from Sun City to Chandler. Patterson was aware that the owners of the Brewers' spring training ballpark, Sun City Stadium, had sold the facility to private developers and the Brewers would soon need a new spring home. After leaving office, Patterson built a 2,700-acre (11 km2) development he named Ocotillo, in which he placed the ballpark. [4]
In April 1985, the Brewers agreed to move their spring training camp from Sun City to Chandler where local authorities planned to build a 20-acre (81,000 m2) complex in exchange for the Brewers signing a 10-year lease. The Brewers moved into Compadre Stadium for the 1986 Cactus League spring training. [5] The facility was the first Cactus League stadium with grass seating in the outfield. [6] It also featured an artificial lake. [7] The Compadre Stadium complex also offered the Brewers a number of state-of-the art features at the time, including an infield diamond, several batting cages, and on-site practice fields. [8]
The stadium faced problems immediately upon opening. A gas explosion inside the Brewers' locker room at Compadre Stadium during the 1986 spring training seriously burned several of the Brewer coaches, including third base coach Tony Muser. Muser was in line to become the Brewers' manager, but did not because of his injuries. [1] The facility had only been open four days. The Chandler fire department downplayed speculation hasty construction on the stadium had led to the explosion. [9]
Parking was far away from the entrance and the stadium was also on the outskirts of Phoenix; the proximity to nearby farms led a local paper to comment the stadium "smells like hell." [7] The players had to go through the stadium to reach the locker room, and each dugout had only a portable toilet. [10]
The Brewers drew 51,800 fans to Compadre in 1986 and 69,158 in 1987, but after two seasons the stadium did not break even on spring training alone, and the stadium began to look for other events to fill its schedule after sitting idle for most of 1986 to help the Bermuda grass field grow. [11] The stadium then hosted a number of concerts during the spring training offseason.
The then-record Cactus League attendance of 9,812 fans was set on March 26, 1988 at Compadre for a game against the Chicago Cubs. [12]
The stadium was not built with lights and the Brewers negotiated with Chandler about their installation in 1989. [13] Additional practice fields were built on the complex grounds in 1990. [1]
Maricopa County bought the stadium from Patterson's group in 1993. [3]
The stadium became quickly outdated as other Cactus League stadiums were completed or renovated. While state-of-the-art when it opened, the facility quickly fell behind other facilities – for instance, Compadre was the only Cactus League stadium where players had to walk through the bleachers to get from the clubhouse to the dugout. [14] After newer stadiums such as the Peoria Sports Complex or Scottsdale Stadium were completed for other Cactus League teams in the early 1990s, the Brewers requested $12 to $14 million from the city of Chandler to improve the stadium. However, the city of Chandler was only prepared for $9 million in renovations, half of which would have been paid for by Maricopa County. [15] After a $5 million bond election failed in 1996 the Brewers decided to move out. [6] The Brewers departed Compadre after the 1997 season and began Cactus League play the following year at the newly built Maryvale Baseball Park on the west side of the city of Phoenix, where the team holds spring training to this day.
Kino Sports Complex is a multiple-use sports complex in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox formerly utilized the complex's main ballpark, Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, for Cactus League games each March and had their minor league complexes on-site. The ballpark was also home to the Tucson Sidewinders of the Pacific Coast League for the team's last decade in Tucson, running from the stadium's 1998 opening season to the 2008 season. The ballpark was a temporary home (2011–2013) to the Tucson Padres of the Pacific Coast League during the team's relocation to El Paso, Texas. It is also the regular season home of the Pecos League's Tucson Saguaros baseball team since 2016. It seats 11,500 fans, and hosts concerts in addition to its primary function as a baseball park.
Hohokam Stadium, also known as Dwight W. Patterson Field and formerly Hohokam Park (1997–2013), is a 10,500-seat baseball park located in Mesa, Arizona. The stadium, named for the Hohokam people who occupied the region from approximately AD 1 to the mid-15th century, was completed in January 1997 after the original Hohokam Stadium was demolished. In 2015, it became the spring training home of Major League Baseball's Athletics. The 2015 stadium and facility refresh was led by Populous.
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Tempe Diablo Stadium is a baseball field located in Tempe, Arizona. It has been the spring training home of the Los Angeles Angels since 1993, and it is the home field for night games of the Arizona League Angels. It was the spring training home of the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and 1970, the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971 and 1972, and the Seattle Mariners from 1977 through 1993.
American Family Fields of Phoenix, formerly known as Maryvale Baseball Park and briefly as Brewers Fields of Phoenix, is a baseball park located in the Maryvale community of Phoenix, Arizona.
The Arizona Complex League Brewers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Arizona Complex League (ACL) and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Phoenix, Arizona, and play their home games at American Family Fields of Phoenix.
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority (AZSTA) is a corporate and political body having the rights, powers and immunities of a municipal corporation. It was created on April 24, 2000, by Arizona Senate Bill 1220. The mission of the AZSTA is to build and operate a multipurpose facility, to provide funding for tourism promotion in Maricopa County, to improve Cactus League spring training facilities, and to build community youth and amateur sports and recreational facilities.
The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team based in Peoria, Arizona, that competes in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners. The team was established in 1992 as the Tucson Javelinas, and played for two seasons under that name. The Javelinas have won the most championships, seven, of any team in the Arizona Fall League, most recently in 2018.
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives established players practice time prior to competitive play. Spring training has always attracted fan attention, drawing crowds who travel to the warm climates of Arizona and Florida to enjoy the weather and watch their favorite teams play.
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is a stadium complex located in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, Arizona, at the former site of the Indian Bend Country Club. It serves as the Major League Baseball spring-training facility for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, replacing Tucson Electric Park for the Diamondbacks and Hi Corbett Field for the Rockies. The complex represents the first MLB park to be built on Native American Indian land.
Sloan Park is an American baseball park in Mesa, Arizona, that opened in 2014. The primary operator is the Chicago Cubs and the ballpark serves as their spring training home and is also the home of the Arizona League Cubs of the Arizona League and the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League. Sloan Park was built and paid for by residents of the City of Mesa, approved by ballot measure. It was primarily built to house spring training operations for the Chicago Cubs, who had previously played at nearby Hohokam Stadium. The stadium design was led by Populous. The dimensions of the playing surface closely match those of the Cubs' regular home stadium, Wrigley Field. There are many secondary fields at the park, most of which are training and practice fields.
Sports in Arizona includes professional sports teams, college sports, and individual sports. All four major league sports teams in Arizona are based in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
CoolToday Park is a ballpark in North Port, Florida, located in the southern portion of Sarasota County, 35 miles (56 km) south of Sarasota, Florida. It is the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. The ballpark opened on March 24, 2019, with the Braves' 4–2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Keegan Field is an amateur sports field located in Yuma, Arizona, United States. The 4‐acre athletic facility contains a softball field with lights for night games and is part of the larger 32-acre Kennedy Park Athletic Complex. It was named in honor of Frances Keegan, a local supporter of amateur athletics.
Sun City Stadium was a baseball park located in Sun City, Arizona, from 1971 until the mid-1990s. It was built by developer Del Webb, and served as the spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1973 to 1985. The park was dismantled in early 1995, and a retirement community was subsequently built on the site.
