“Call it a Day” by Frank Biondo
City of Scottsdale
News Release
Nov. 12, 2015
Contact: Mike Phillips, public affairs manager, 480-312-7825, mphillips@ScottsdaleAZ.gov
Scottsdale Stadium turns 60
Everything around it has changed, but the diamond remains — an elegant construct of grass, sifted dirt and chalked lines.
“Scottsdale Stadium just feels like home,” once wrote Gwen Knapp, a sports columnist who considers it one of the most iconic sports venues in the nation.
Fans are invited to find out why on Saturday, Nov. 21. Scottsdale Stadium turns 60 and everyone’s invited to the family-friendly party.
It’s only fitting that the stadium will host a game that day; the Arizona Fall League Championship Game’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:08 p.m. The contest will be nationally televised by the MLB Network, streamed online by MLB.TV, and broadcast across the nation on satellite radio via MLB Radio Network.
Before and after the game, fans will be treated to interactive baseball activities, historic memorabilia displays and exhibits delving into the science of baseball.
Gates open at noon and the first 500 fans into the stadium will receive a limited edition, 60th anniversary commemorative pin.
Fans will be able to earn free admission by bringing four cans of non-perishable food items to the game; the donations will go to support Scottsdale’s Vista Del Camino Food Bank. Without a donation, tickets are $6 for seniors and those 17 and under. Adult tickets are $8.
Original Scottsdale Stadium opened in November 1955 and could comfortably seat the town’s population of 3,500. The Baltimore Orioles became the stadium’s first spring training tenant a few months later, one of four teams in the fledgling Cactus League.
Today, Scottsdale has a population of about 228,000, the Cactus League has 15 teams and spring training is a multimillion-dollar industry.
The San Francisco Giants made Scottsdale Stadium their spring training home in 1982 and continue to be its marquee tenant. The stadium was completely rebuilt on its original site in 1992.
Besides Cactus League and Fall League games, the stadium annually hosts dozens of sporting and special events, including soccer, rugby, date nights and food festivals.
Columnist Knapp is not alone in her praise for Scottsdale Stadium. Bleacher Report, the Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times and others have all rated it the best venue in the Cactus League.
Here’s a sampling of praise for Scottsdale Stadium:
“There’s something about Scottsdale Stadium … that just makes it better than the rest. It’s where you want to watch spring training.”
— Phoenix New Times: Best Place to See a Spring Training Game, 2015
“Scottsdale Stadium just feels like home.”
Other than Lambeau Field for football, the Palestra in Philadelphia for basketball, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, none of the places I’ve visited as a sportswriter feels as intimate and evocative of its sport as Scottsdale Stadium. Anyone with the means to make sports pilgrimages should put all five venues on the agenda. For anyone west of the Rockies with a modest travel budget, the Cactus League’s quaintest stadium ranks as the ideal destination.”
— Gwen Knapp, columnist, San Francisco Chronicle
“The best venue to watch a baseball game at in the Cactus League stands on the corner of Osborn and Drinkwater”
— Baseball Pilgrimages
“ … The gem of the Cactus League ballparks.”
— Dave Nemetz, Bleacher Report
“One of the most popular destinations – and certainly the one with the greatest “place to be” factor – is Scottsdale Stadium”
— Brad Denny, Stadium Journey
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