Sun City Stadium

Last updated
Sun City Stadium
Sun City Stadium.jpg
Location111th Avenue & Grand Avenue
Sun City, Arizona, U.S. [1] [lower-alpha 1]
Owner Del E. Webb Construction (1971–1983)
Capacity
  • 3,500 (initial) [2]
  • 5,500 (at closure) [3]
Field size
  • Left field: 340 feet (100 m)
  • Center field: 425 feet (130 m)
  • Right field: 370 feet (110 m) [2]
Acreage 12.5 acres (5.1 ha) [2]
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1971
Demolished1995
Builder Del E. Webb Construction
Tenants

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. [4] The park was dismantled in early 1995, [3] and a retirement community was subsequently built on the site. [5]

Contents

History

The park was dedicated on June 17, 1971, with the Sun City Saints, a women's softball team, winning a doubleheader from the Huntington Park Bluejays. [6] In March 1972, the San Francisco Giants played several spring training games at the facility, including two against the Tokyo Orions. [7] The first spring training game was held at the stadium on March 13, as the Giants were defeated by the San Diego Padres, 9–4. [8] The Giants' lineup included Bobby Bonds, Dave Kingman, Garry Maddox, Gary Matthews, Willie Mays, and Willie McCovey. [8] The stadium also hosted several college baseball games that month. [9]

The Milwaukee Brewers moved their spring training from Tempe to Sun City in 1973, [10] at which time the facility added clubhouses and another baseball field. [11] At the end of September 1983, the Del E. Webb Construction Company sold the stadium to a construction and development company based in Glendale. [12] The Brewers held spring training games in Sun City through 1985, after which they moved to Chandler. [13] The final game the Brewers played in Sun City was on April 3, 1985, a 7–5 win over the Seattle Mariners. [14]

After the Brewers left in 1985, the ballpark was closed and put up for sale. [15] The women's softball team, the Sun City Saints, had disbanded after ownership raised their rent for use of the facility. [16] In 1989, a Glendale-based three-person partnership bought the stadium to use for youth and adult amateur baseball leagues. [15] The following year, the Sun City Saints reformed after ownership allowed them to use the stadium rent-free. [17] Also in 1990, the stadium served as the home ballpark of the Sun City Rays of the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association. [18] During this timeframe, the stadium became the property of a local bank, which was later absorbed by the federal Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). [18]

In May 1991, a different three-person partnership, incorporated as "Field of Dreams", leased the stadium from the RTC with an option to buy, primarily to host men's amateur baseball; the partnership changed the name of the facility to Sun Cities Stadium. [19] [20] In 1992 and 1993, the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League used the stadium as their home ballpark. [21] [22] In March 1993, a partnership known as Sun Cities Associates—two of the Field of Dreams partners plus an attorney from New York—bought the stadium for $500,000 from the RTC. [23] Later that year, a closely-linked group, known as Sun Cities Stadium Associates, attempted to get the Kansas City Royals to move their spring training to a new stadium that would be built near the existing stadium. [24] [25] The effort, along with attempts to attract other major-league teams, proved to be unsuccessful. [26] With no professional baseball tenant for the stadium, and a new baseball facility (Peoria Sports Complex opened in March 1994) located only 6 miles (9.7 km) away, ownership announced in June 1994 that the stadium would be torn down and replaced with a housing complex. [27]

Notes

  1. ↑ Vintage postcards of the stadium can be found online, which note an address of 13440 North 111 Avenue.

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References

  1. ↑ "Cactus League". The Arizona Republic . March 23, 1980. p. E2. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 Hicks, Dave (August 1, 1971). "Sun City is 'when' proposition, not 'if'". The Arizona Republic . p. D-3. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Baseball is outta there". The Arizona Republic . January 27, 1995. p. NW 1. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Cactus League Teams". The Arizona Republic . June 1, 1996. p. C12. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Minard, Meg (December 14, 2020). "Former Cactus League Stadiums: Sun City Stadium". stadiumjourney.com. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Saints belt Bluejays". The Arizona Republic . July 18, 1971. p. D-9. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "San Francisco Giants (ad)". The Arizona Republic . March 3, 1972. p. 75. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "McCovey Gets Hit In 9-4 Loss To Padres". The Sacramento Bee . McClatchy Newspapers. March 14, 1972. p. B7. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Major League Baseball comes to Sun City Stadium". The Arizona Republic . March 24, 1972. p. 18. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Brewers Set up Spring Camp". The Capital Times . Madison, Wisconsin. AP. January 12, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Brewers announce Sun City schedule opening March 10". Daily Sentinel. Woodstock, Illinois. December 20, 1973. p. 14. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Walsh, Jim (October 5, 1983). "Ownership to pursue Brewers". The Arizona Republic . p. Extra E. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Milwaukee Brewers Spring Training". springtrainingonline.com. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Hot and bothered". The Arizona Republic . April 4, 1985. p. E1. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 Remy, Holly D. (June 21, 1989). "Sun City Stadium's new owners dust off home plate". The Arizona Republic . p. 1W. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Konig, Ryan (June 13, 1990). "Saints holding a revival". The Arizona Republic . p. 1W. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Konig, Ryan (June 13, 1990). "Saints holding a revival (cont'd)". The Arizona Republic . p. 3W. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  18. 1 2 "Stadium has had few hits". The Arizona Republic . June 27, 1994. p. 7. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Baker, Lori (May 5, 1991). "3 Valley men set to buy Sun City Stadium". The Arizona Republic . p. 1W. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Sun City Stadium gets new owners". The Arizona Republic . May 22, 1991. p. 7N-8. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Arizona Fall League Rosters". Arizona Daily Star . September 24, 1992. p. D5. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Arizona Fall League". Tucson Citizen . October 5, 1993. p. 3D. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Baker, Lori (April 16, 1993). "Baseball one step closer". The Arizona Republic . p. 21. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ Schwartz, David (October 4, 1993). "Stadium group woos KC Royals". The Arizona Republic . p. 1. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Schwartz, David (October 4, 1993). "Stadium group woos KC Royals (cont'd)". The Arizona Republic . p. 2. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "El Mirage won't deal with Royals". The Salina Journal . Salina, Kansas. October 6, 1993. p. 17. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ Baker, Lori (June 27, 1994). "Ballpark out; apartments planned". The Arizona Republic . p. NW 4. Retrieved November 26, 2021– via newspapers.com.
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