| Most reviews I’ve seen of Maryvale Baseball Park have been very positive, and I’m not one to disagree. It’s a very basic park without a lot of frills, but has all the amenities a casual could need. Also, the atmosphere is very laid back, probably because the Brewers don’t have a huge or passionate following. The ballpark is located in the Maryvale section of Pheonix, right along a busy road. From the exterior, it does not have a very impressive look to it. The main entrance is in the right field corner and the park actually lacks an entrance behind homeplate. Fans enter directly onto the main concourse which overlooks the field. One of the cool features of the park is the structure build over the concourse which provides shade. Without this, there would be few places here to hide from the hot Arizona sun. The concourse wraps completely around the park allowing restless fans plenty of places to stroll during the game. Seating consists of fold down chairs between the bases, bleacher sections past the bags, and large grassy berms behind the outfield fences. Concessions at Mayvale Baseball Park are well varied and very reasonably priced. Because the Brewers train here, seeing brats on the menu is no surprise. Other interesting food items that are available include Mexican (burritos and tacos), Bill Johnson’s BBQ, burgers, chicken sandwiches, cheese steaks, and freshly popped kettle korn. As with most spring training venues, the atmosphere is very relaxing. Ushers are friendly and unobtrusive and most fans seem to be there to watch the game. My only minor complaint is that the 3rd base side of the park seems a bit dead. Perhaps this is because the main entrance is on the 1st base side, but I always prefer if teams can spread out their concession stands so it more evenly distributes the fans. Parking is available in a large grassy lot for $6. Also, the practice fields are located right next to the ballpark, so if you get their early enough you can watch the action on the back fields. Maryvale Baseball Park doesn’t break any new ground, but that’s ok. It is still a very pleasant place to take in a spring training ballgame. With a major renovation scheduled to be completed for the 2019 spring training season, hopefully the laid back nature of the ballpark will not change.
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