Spring Training Arizona - Cactus League - Who's Going? (stance, golf, ball)

[AADAD]

We are heading there in March to see the Giants, Padres and Angels....

Staying at the Marriott most likely...

Anyone else?

[bostonceltz]

I'm headed to the new JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida in early March.

[Finger Laker]

Of course ...... Then again I live here

[NewToCA]

We are going down there for a few days, mostly around Goodyear.

[Statz2k10]

If the Dodgers still played in Vero Beach I would probably take another trip down there. I went in 2005 and had a great time outside of getting sun burnt. But now that they are in Arizona and I'm on the East Coast I can't really see spending the money on a flight for spring training games I'd just spend a little more and go to a game in LA.

So it's a good possibility that unless I'm already in FL for whatever reason my spring training games could be over

[Mike from back east]

Now that we live in the area, we went to seven games this year (2017). After going to MLB for 60 years, this year I got my FIRST foul ball at a spring training game in late February.

Went to four different venues this year.

- Surprise Stadium, home to the KC Royals and Texas Rangers. My favorite as it's easy for me to get to, free parking, very clean, and staffed by very friendly volunteers who are local retirees. Best of all they sell Boulevard Beer out of Kansas City, their American Kolsch brew, which is awesome. Two hotels nearby and lots of eats along Bell Rd.

- Peoria Stadium, home to the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres. Within walking distance are several hotels and TONS of good eats and movies, with a large mall nearby (Arrowhead). This ballpark probably has the MOST eats, shopping and hotels nearby, especially within walking distance.

- Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Very nice ballpark, the one where I got the foul ball. Lots of hotels and food nearby, plus golf and a casino.

- Camelback Ranch ballpark, home of the L.A. Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. Showing it's age a bit but still a decent place to take in a game. Hotels and food a short distance away. Not really a favorite place of mine so I'll see these teams play at other local parks.


In years past we've been to ballparks down in Goodyear and they were fine too, right off I-20.

If planning a trip for Spring Training 2018 be aware that it can get rather warm here even in March and drinking lots of water is always in order in this climate at any time of the year. We order our tix off the MLB website and IIRC the schedule is set early in the year.

[BucFan]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Now that we live in the area, we went to seven games this year (2017).
If planning a trip for Spring Training 2018 be aware that it can get rather warm here

Same here in FL.

[Mike from back east]

Here's the complete 2020 Spring Training schedule for both AZ and FL.

When I lived back east I always enjoyed going to FL for the Grapefruit League games, but damn the hotel prices during High Season.

Now that I live in Peoria, AZ it's easy to see a ton of Cactus League games, my fave venue being Surprise Stadium.

For those of you who think you might want to retire to AZ this is a good way to see the area during some of the best weather we have here. If you visit then I highly recommend checking out some open houses in Sun City Grand near Surprise Stadium and note how well the small city of Surprise has its act together in all facets of running a city (good roads, excellent recreation facilities, and much more). One of my realtor friends tells me that Surprise is also fiscally well-managed.

If you buy tickets via the MLB site, note that all times are Eastern, so that's a 2 hour time difference here in AZ, and 3 hour time difference once DST starts on 08 March 2020.

[Mike from back east]

With the Coronavirus around I've decided to forego attending any games this Spring. Best to all...

[Mike from back east]

Spring Training has been cancelled due to the coronavirus.