| Surprise Stadium is a no-frills
venue that offers a clean comfortable place to take in a spring training
contest. There is nothing very unique
about the ballpark or the setting, but that’s ok. Because it mostly hosts spring training
games, just watching the major leaguers up close should provide enough
excitement for the fans. It looks very
similar to minor league parks that have been built since 2000. A full wraparound concourse allows fans to
see the game from numerous different angles while the second level provides
private suites and some additional seating for regular fans. The main entrance for fans here is actually
in the left field corner, right near the main parking lot. Unfortunately, because of how the training
complex is configured, it is not possible to see the front façade of the
ballpark. The seating consists of all
green fold down chairs as well as a large grassy berm behind the outfield
fences. Sightlines are ok on the seats
near home plate, but as you get further down the line, they are worse. This is because the seats do not curve in
towards the infield. So if you’re
sitting past the bags (like I was), you will need to crank your neck to see the
action. The concourse area is very wide,
especially on the ends near the outfield. There is a nice array of concessions, mostly located in the large left
field concourse. Among the best is Bill
Johnson’s BBQ stand which features tasty pulled pork sandwiches. Also, kettle korn was being freshly popped,
allowing for a sweet smell to permeate the whole ballpark. Parking here is free and is located behind
the outfield fences. While there is a
play area for kids here, the atmosphere overall here was baseball oriented –
just as it should be at a spring training venue. Surprise Stadium is not a very memorable
ballpark among those in Arizona,
but is still a fun enough place to take in a game.
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