I've been going to to Spring Training games for nearly 10 years now. Never get tired of it. Arizona has two new cities hosting teams. Goodyear with the Reds(2010) and that other Ohio team. Glendale with the Dodgers and White Sox(moved from Tucson).

 

Goodyear is still a work in progress. It has a nice industrial look. Most of the practice fields for the Reds have yet to be built. Definitely has an incomplete feel, but I think it will come together nicely for 2010. Goodyear is more or less an exurb with farmland and open spaces. It's an easy drive, but is probably the furthest from the rest of the teams. About a 40 minutes drive from my home base of Scottsdale.

 

Now Glendale is an absolute oasis. The stadium is one of the largest(13k+), interesting design, walking paths, orange grove, bandstand, and walk of fame. Each team has a practice field that is the exact dimensions of their respective home stadiums. A lake in the complex that is uses reclaimed water for the fields. Very impressive.

 

Goodyear Ballpark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party decks are popular

 

 

Some pretty boy who will probably start the season the minors. ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party deck cleared out

 

Got to keep the kids entertained

 

"What is that thing" was heard a lot

 

Plenty of Reds signage.

 

 

 

In all it's 60' 6" glory

 

More to come . . .

 

Camelback Ranch Glendale

 

 

 

wow. now that is the strangest thing. the reds/indians sharing a stadium that is. umm, that disturbing statue-thing too.

 

otherwise, the stadium looks great.

 

my father-in-law has been going to spring training with his dayton pals for 10yrs too. he just got back this week. they always go to florida, but have talked about going out to arizona sometime too. i'll have to show him this thread so thanks!

 

wow. now that is the strangest thing. the reds/indians sharing a stadium that is. umm, that disturbing statue-thing too.

 

otherwise, the stadium looks great.

 

my father-in-law has been going to spring training with his dayton pals for 10yrs too. he just got back this week. they always go to florida, but have talked about going out to arizona sometime too. i'll have to show him this thread so thanks!

 

 

Wow, all those old wrinkled people with leather like skin!  Oh and baseball themed d*ldo too!

Great photos Moonloop!  I can see why the Reds are moving from Florida to Arizona. Very snazzy!  But I agree that the statue-thing is disturbing! 

 

By the way, I just had to post this article on the Reds final spring training game at their Florida facility.  When I read it this morning I laughed out loud.

 

Reds fans boo mayor as era ends

Friday,  April 3, 2009 - 3:03 AM

By Joe Kay, Associated Press

 

SARASOTA, Fla. -- It started with boos from a sparse crowd and ended on a run set up by a balk. Not how the Cincinnati Reds wanted their Florida finale to go.  Fans booed the mayor before Cincinnati's final spring training game in Florida, and the Reds wrapped up a dozen years in Sarasota with a 6-5 loss to a Pittsburgh Pirates split squad yesterday.

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2009/04/03/reds03.ART_ART_04-03-09_C5_7NDEP3S.html?sid=101

That attendance figure caught my eye. In Arizona that's terrible. The Cleveland/Brewers games wasn't a sellout, but there still was 8,000 there. I wouldn't be surprise if the Reds average 6-8k+ a game next year with a few sellouts in the mix(Cubs, Cleveland, Dodger games). People go there to enjoy baseball.

I'm a little disappointed that the Reds are moving from Florida, but that ballpark does look good.

Camelback Ranch Glendale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building in the distance is a team office. One for each team.

 

 

Rocks in cages was a first for me.

 

 

 

Gabion walls is name.

 

 

 

In Scottsdale, Tallest Cy Young Winner (Randy Johnson)

 

Smallest Cy Young Winner, same team, same game. (Tim Lincecum)

 

Hole in the ground. Hasn't change must since the last time I visited

I firmly believe baseball should NOT be played in the desert.

 

But if it is, then Camelback Ranch is the way to do it. With the brown beams, that stadium really embraces its environment in a way that very few baseball fields do. I like it.

I think pretty much everything about Arizona is depressing (even if it is sunny), but yeah, Camelback Ranch was pretty nice.

I think pretty much everything about Arizona is depressing (even if it is sunny), but yeah, Camelback Ranch was pretty nice.

 

Isn't that why its dubbed "Gods waiting room - west"?  Its too damn hot and dry!

 

All the old folks look like this

 

 

Nice picture you update here. This is very nice place. I yet not go that place. The place is in the same city as i live.

Other than money, there's no reason for the Reds to be playing in Arizona, and I say this as a Reds fan living in Arizona. Cleveland makes sense because there's a relatively large presence of transplants from Northeastern Ohio.

 

Goodyear Stadium, only five years old, has been outclassed by other newer spring training facilities (Salt River Fields and Cubs Park in particular) and the tickets are way too expensive for games that are essentially meaningless. I can get better seats for cheaper at Chase Field in Phoenix (Diamondbacks stadium) for about half the price of what it costs to attend spring training games.

I wish the Tribe was back in Florida. Not only is it closer but it's also more tolerant. I won't set foot, let alone spend money in Arizona again due to its politics -- I haven't been there since 1985.