See Professional Sports in Arizona
The Valley of the Sun is one of the few places in the country with teams for all four of the major sports – Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Hockey.
In addition, the valley hosts Baseball’s Spring Training, Professional Women’s Basketball, two major Golf Tournaments, Tennis Tournaments, the annual Fiesta Bowl College Football Classic, and ASU Football, Basketball, and Baseball, and you have enough action to keep even the most ardent sports fans happy.
The best time to visit is in spring when you could feasibly catch baseball’s spring training, the Suns, the Coyotes, and ASU basketball and baseball, as well as the Safeway International LPGA Tournament.
Arizona is now an excellent venue for professional sports as the state now is in possession of the Superbowl and a brand new stadium for the game.
The University of Phoenix Stadium is a world-class structure that was completed in 2006; seats 63,400; is expandable to 73000 and was named by Business Week as one of the 10 “most impressive” sports facilities on the globe due to the combination of its retractable roof and roll-in natural grass field.
Auto Racing
Phoenix International Raceway,
7602 S. Avondale Blvd. at Baseline Road, Avondale
(602) 252-2227; , NASCAR and IndyCar racing.
Tickets range from $10 to $138.
Baseball
In 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks surprised most of the nation by beating the New York Yankees in the last inning of the last game of the World Series. The result of which makes for rabidly loyal fans. The team plays at Bank One Ballpark (BOB)in downtown Phoenix. The ballpark’s retractable roof allows for airconditioned-play during the Valley’s blistering summers and makes this one of only a few enclosed baseball stadiums with natural grass.
Tickets are available through the Chase Field ticket office and run between $8 and $116. On the day of a game, you can also stand in line at Gate K in hopes of getting one of the few $1 day-of-game tickets. Take a guided tour to get a behind-the-scenes look at the ballpark. Tours cost $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and children ages 7 to 12, and $2 for children ages 4 to 6. The park is a one of a kind in that it has an indoor pool behind right field
Spring Training
Baseball’s spring training season is extremely popular, especially with fans from northern teams. Nine major league baseball teams have spring-training camps around the Valley in the month of March, and exhibition games are scheduled at seven different stadiums.
Teams training in the Valley include:
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Tempe Diablo Stadium, 2200 W. Alameda Dr. (48th St. and Broadway Rd.), Tempe (602) 438-9300 or (480) 784-4444 for tickets
www.angelsbaseball.com
Chicago Cubs, HoHoKam Park, 1235 N. Center St., Mesa (800) 905-3315 for tickets
www.cubspringtraining.com
Kansas City Royals, Surprise Recreation Campus, 15960 N. Bullard Ave., Surprise (623) 594-5600 for tickets
www.kansascityroyals.com
Milwaukee Brewers, Maryvale Baseball Park, 3600 N. 51st Ave., Phoenix (800) 933-7890 for tickets www.milwaukeebrewers.com
Oakland Athletics, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 5999 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix (800) 225-2277 for tickets
www.oaklandathletics.com
San Diego Padres, Peoria Sports Complex, 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria (623) 878-4337 for tickets
www.padres.com
San Francisco Giants, Scottsdale Stadium, 7408 E. Osborn Rd., Scottsdale (800) 225-2277 for tickets
www.sfgiants.com
Seattle Mariners, Peoria Sports Complex, 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria (623) 878-4337 for tickets www.seattlemariners.com
Texas Rangers, Surprise Recreation Campus, 15960 N. Bullard Ave., Surprise (623) 594-5600 for tickets
www.texasrangers.com
Tickets cost $5 to $24. Get a schedule from a visitor center or the Cactus League at:
(866) 705-4816; www.cactus-league.com. Games quickly sell out, especially on weekends, so be sure to order your tickets in advance.
Basketball
The NBA’s Phoenix Suns play at the America West Arena, 201 E. Jefferson St. (800) 4-NBA-TIX or (602) 379-SUNS. Tickets cost $13 to $103. Suns tickets are hard to come by; if you haven’t planned ahead, try contacting the box office the day before or the day of a game to see if tickets have been returned. Otherwise, you’ll have to try a ticket agency and pay a premium.
Phoenix also has a WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury
(602) 252-9622 or (602) 514-8333; which plays at the America West Arena between late May and mid-August. Tickets cost $11 to $128.
Football
The Arizona Cardinals (800) 999-1402 Home is the beautiful new stadium in the west valley city of Glendale. Completed in 2006, the Cardinals home will again host the Superbowl in 2015. Call for ticket prices which will go on sale around mid-July. Most are $30 to $68.
The Sun Devil Stadium belongs to Arizona State University’s Sun Devils (480) 965-2381. Tickets range from $15 to $90. The stadium is home to the Fiesta Bowl Football Classic.
Golf
Because Arizona revels in having more than 200 golf courses and ideal golfing weather throughout the fall, winter, and spring, the Phoenix hosts some major golf tournaments. At the end of January, the Phoenix Open is by far the biggest tournament. Spectators can see their golf heroes at the Tournament Players Club TPC of Scottsdale, attracting more fans than any other golf tournament in the world (over a half-million each year). Tickets start at $25.
Each March, the Safeway International LPGA Tournament (877) 983-3300 or (602) 495-4653, held at the Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club, 3976 S. Ponderosa Dr., lures nearly 100 of the top women golfers from around the world. Daily tickets are $20; weekly tickets are $50.
Hockey
Arizonans are crazy about ice hockey. In fact, the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes (480) 563-PUCK; have a state-of-the-art arena in Glendale. Tickets cost $15 to $225.
Rodeos, Polo, Horse Shows
Cowboys, cowgirls, and other horsey types will find plenty of the four-legged critters going through their paces most weeks at WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Rd., Scottsdale (480) 312-6802. With its hundreds of stables, numerous equestrian arenas, and a polo field, this complex provides an amazing variety of entertainment and sporting events. There are rodeos, polo matches, horse shows, horseback rides, and horseback riding instruction.