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Old Posted May 17, 2008, 3:50 AM
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HooverDam HooverDam is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Country Club Park, Greater Coronado, Midtown, Phoenix, Az
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Here is a little tour of the stadiums of the Valley of the Sun:

First, Sun Devil Stadium:
-Capacity: 73, 379
-Opened in 1958, but expanded over the years.
-Tempe, Arizona. Home of the Arizona State University Sun Devil football team. Former home to the NFLs Arizona Cardinals (1988-2003).
-Nickname: The House of Heat









Its in need of some structural repairs and upgrades, and those plans are in the works. Its also in need of some modern updating to improve things for the fans. Plastic seats to replace the metal benches, shade sails across the top (like you see at a lot of Euro stadiums), more bathrooms, improved lighting in the concourse, better concessions, et cetera.

Even with all of that though, the stadium is still a gem, and probably my sentimental favorite. It sits between two desert buttes (an impressive engineering feet at the time), on the North side of ASUs lovely campus, just south of Tempe Town Lake. It hosted Super Bowl XXX, formerly hosted the Fiesta Bowl and was part of the BCS Championship game rotation, and currently hosts the Insight Bowl. It was featured in the film "Jerry Maguire"


Packard Stadium
-Capacity: 7,875
-Built in 1974
-Tempe, Arizona. Home to Arizona State University Baseball
-Nickname: The Rock (for its hard infield)







This small park is going through some renovations as well. Additional concessions are being added, plastic seats to replace the benches, and shade structures are all in the plans.

Wells Fargo Arena
-Tempe, Arizona
-Capacity: 14,198
-Opened 1974
-Nicknames: Activity Center (former name)

Home to Arizona State University Mens and Womens basketball, as well as various indoor sports (i.e. gymnastics)







This stadium is also about to undergo some major renovations. Improved press areas, new seating, better concourse and concessions, new scoreboard et cetera.

US Airways Center
-Phoenix, Az (Downtown)
-Capacity 18,422 for basketball. 16, 210
-Home to the Phoenix Suns (NBA), Arizona Rattlers (AFL), Phoenix Roadrunners (ECHL), Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) and former home to the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) as well as a few other minor league teams.
-Opened: 1992
-Nicknames: "The Purple Palace" and "The Snake Pit" (for Rattlers games)









With all the newer gyms in the NBA, this one is relatively old, but its still fantastic. Its been updated recently and its as nice as it was when it opened. It was the first in a series of large municipal projects that helped bring Downtown Phoenix back and put it on the positive trajectory its now on.

It hosted the 1993 NBA Finals, the 1995 NBA All Star Game, and will be hosting the 2008 NBA All Star game.

Chase Field
-Phoenix, AZ (Downtown)
-Capacity: 49,033
-Opened 1998
-Nicknames: the Chase, BOB (for its former name "Bank One Ballpark")











This stadium is just down Jefferson St from the US Airways Center. It was another big piece to the downtown Phoenix revitalization efforts. It hosted the amazing 2001 World Series, and is in consideration for an upcoming MLB All Star Game (2012 I think?).

It features a retractable roof and open-able panels along the outfield wall. It was the first stadium in the country (the world?) to feature a retractable roof and natural grass. Its also well known for its pool in right center field. The past two years its gone through some renovations, and now has the largest scoreboard in American pro sports (which will be eclipsed by the new Cowboys stadium).

Jobing.com Arena
-Glendale, Az
-Capacity: 17,799
-Home of the NHLs Phoenix Coyotes and the NLL Arizona Sting (LaCrosse)
-Opened in 2003









Its out in a very underdeveloped area currently, but thats changing quickly. The stadium is very intimate, and you always feel close the ice. Its notable for its open concourses so that you can always see the action (you walk down to your seats, instead of up to them).

Its home to Arizona Varsity High School championships in basketball, volleyball, wrestling and cheer. It was going to host an NHL All Star games, but the collective bargaining issues screwed that up. Its expected to be re-awarded an NHL All Star game sometime soon.

University of Phoenix Stadium
-Glendale, AZ
-Capacity: 63, 400 (expands to 73, 719)
-Home to the NFLs Arizona Cardinals, the Fiesta Bowl, Super Bowl XL and potentially the Super Bowl in 2012.
-Opened in 2006







Already covered in this thread, so I'll keep it brief. Its very distinct looking, its supposed to evoke the image of a barrel cactus, or a coiled rattle snake. Along with Jobing.com Arena its part of the larger WestGate City Center Development.

It was the first stadium in North America to feature a removable field, allowing the field to get more sun during off days and for the stadium to hold events like monster truck rallies w/ out damaging the field.

Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
-Phoenix, Arizona (Midtown/Encanto area)
- Capacity: 14,870
- Opened 1965
-Nickname: "The Madhouse On McDowell"
-Former home to the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Roadrunners. Currently used only for concerts, large events, and the state and county fairs.









Known for its distinctive saddle or pringle shaped roof, the Madhouse on McDowell was known as one of the loudest buildings in the NBA. Though its sadly fallen into disrepair and underuse in recent years, Phoenicians are lucky that unlike other cities, it still stands. It anchors the state and county fairgrounds, and gets most of its use in that capacity.

It features a lot of unique southwestern themed murals by Arizona artist Paul Coze. Its a great piece of MidCentury architecture, and its dilapidated state doesn't really do it justice.

Phoenix Municipal Stadium
-Phoenix, AZ (Papago Park)
-Opened 1964
-Capacity: 8,775
-Home of the Oakland A's in Spring Training, former home of the Phoenix Firebirds (AAA)







I couldn't find many pictures of this stadium, but its a gem. For years it was the place to see baseball in Phoenix. Before the Diamondbacks existed the Firebirds (and before that the Phoenix Giants) played there. Over the left field fence you can see the beautiful Papago Buttes and palms from Papago Park. The stadium has a unique crinkled/accordion style shade structure thats a great mid century modern touch.

There are a bunch of other Spring Training stadiums as well. But this post is getting long and I'm too lazy to keep typing. The Valley also has HohoKam Park in Mesa (home to the Cubs), Maryvale Stadium in West Phoenix (home to the Brewers), Surprise Stadium in Surprise (home to the Royals and Rangers), Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale (home to the Giants), Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe (home to the Angels), Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria (Home to the Mariners and Padres). Plus a new stadium will be opening in Goodyear, AZ west of Phoenix that will be the new Spring home to the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds, Glendale will also be getting a new facility to house the LA Dodgers.
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