ASU Baseball Moving to Phoenix Muni in 2015
After months of deliberation and plans falling through, the Arizona State Sun Devils will play their baseball games in Phoenix Municipal Stadium starting in the 2015 season.
The Arizona Board of Regents approved the move on Thursday, which means ASU can finalize its 25-year lease agreement with the city of Phoenix to play baseball at the Oakland A's spring training facility.
The Athletics are currently working on a deal that would send their franchise to Mesa and play in Hohokam Stadium, the Chicago Cubs old stadium. Meanwhile, the Cubs will move to their new stadium at Riverview Park in Mesa on Dobson Road off the 202 loop.
This should be a big news for Sun Devil baseball fans and also local media. ASU Baseball has played at Packard Stadium since 1974, but the university wants to use the space along with Karsten Golf course and expand the Tempe campus closer to Tempe Town Lake.
Packard Stadium currently seats four thousand fans, while Phoenix Municipal can comfortably fit 8,775. Besides an increase in attendance, ASU could use the new press box to attract the Pac-12 network, ESPN and possibly even Fox Sports Arizona to broadcast more baseball games. This season, the Pac-12 network will not stream every home game online because of Packard Stadium's inconvenience.
Under the new terms that were agreed upon by all parties, ASU will receive all revenue from ticket sales, net concession and parking. The university is responsible for maintenance, operating expenses and paying annual rent. It's estimated to cost the Sun Devils nearly $300,000 annually to cover rent.
Arizona State originally hoped to join the Chicago Cubs in their new facilities at Riverview Park, but negotiations ended back in November.
Be sure to enjoy what could be the last two seasons in Packard Stadium because a big piece of Arizona State athletic history will soon be in rubble.
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