Salt River Fields
Scottsdale, AZ
Review by Mike
When Gary and I attended our first Spring Training game at LECOM Field in Bradenton, Florida, we were charmed by the intimate atmosphere of a tiny ballpark in a residential neighborhood showcasing Major League players. If that was one end of the Spring Training spectrum, then Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona is all the way at the other end. This is a gigantic ballpark, the polar opposite of cozy.
It starts with the massive roof, which looks like two Imperial Star Destroyers hovering over the 1st and 3rd base lines. There is a large second level that has a press box, suites and open party decks around the infield and above that there is the Pepsi patio where folks can look down upon the action from on-high. All of these areas were restricted to ticket holders only, so we didn’t get a chance to check out the view.
The concourse is wide and deep and circles the stadium. A real, live organist with a real, live organ is on the concourse behind home plate, which is a nice touch. A huge grass berm lies beyond the entire outfield fence, with the view for the beach blanket crowd seemingly from another county. In each corner are numerous staircases, switchback ramps and half-levels interspersed with desert gardens that look like an Escher painting in brick and cactus.
The main grandstand is split-level with seats nicely angled towards the field and if you’re seating near the infield, the view is quite good. Even here, though, the walkway the divides the grandstand between front and back seating is too wide, pushing the upper seats farther from the field than they need to be. The scoreboard is high-tech and very sharp and the light towers have a nice minimalist industrial quality to them.
The ballpark is shared by the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks and all of the cactus and trees in the outfield are a nice nod to the local landscape. Salt River Fields is, indeed, grand and impressive, but I don’t think people head south to Spring Training for that. They want a close-up experience with big league ballplayers that they can’t get at Major League ballparks. This big stadium does not offer that connection and ultimately fails to deliver the experience fans are looking for.
2024
2024
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