Brewers Maryvale Spring Training Lease

[MrTPlush]

Personally I would like the Brewers to have spring trainning in Florida, I would rather go to the beach than look at catcus or the mountains.

 

I live in FL so I'd love it if the Brewers' spring training moved to FL. Come to SW Florida and join Boston and the Twins.

 

I thought Florida is what Attanasio wanted for money reasons?

 

From a baseball standpoint I would rather them find a new home in Arizona. Either way hope they can get something going and stop playing in a dump.

[lcbj68c]

Personally I would like the Brewers to have spring trainning in Florida, I would rather go to the beach than look at catcus or the mountains.

 

I live in FL so I'd love it if the Brewers' spring training moved to FL. Come to SW Florida and join Boston and the Twins.

 

This. But be prepared for the backlash on here. You know it rains sometimes in Florida and the parks are so far apart. :eyeroll:

[MrTPlush]

Personally I would like the Brewers to have spring trainning in Florida, I would rather go to the beach than look at catcus or the mountains.

 

I live in FL so I'd love it if the Brewers' spring training moved to FL. Come to SW Florida and join Boston and the Twins.

 

This. But be prepared for the backlash on here. You know it rains sometimes in Florida and the parks are so far apart. :eyeroll:

 

Well rain sucks and the Cactus League all sits within an hour of eachother(so they say) and the Grapefruit League is filled with big gaps(up to 3.5 hours).

[Warning Track Power]

Anything to keep the Brewers in Arizona and out of Maryvale. Will make for long-ish trips between Gilbert and Surprise but still shorter than trips in the Grapefruit League.

[MrTPlush]

Anything to keep the Brewers in Arizona and out of Maryvale. Will make for long-ish trips between Gilbert and Surprise but still shorter than trips in the Grapefruit League.

 

Yah, they are in a great geographical location now. Too bad Maryville is terrible and the stadium is a dumpster.

[patrickgpe]

when I saw this I checked with my friend who used to live in Arizona, says Gilbert has almost no crime and is experiencing a lot of new growth and is also a short drive to Tempe and Awatukee. I hope that this happens.

[DHonks]

I'd hate Gilbert. I live in Cave Creek and that's over an hour away. I am really hoping for one of the North Scottsdale or North Phoenix rumors to be revived.

[FVBrewerFan]

Gilbert. They have a great bbq place down there.

[trwi7]

For those familiar with Gilbert or Phoenix in general, am I right that this would be right by Campo Verde High School?

[MrTPlush]

For those familiar with Gilbert or Phoenix in general, am I right that this would be right by Campo Verde High School?

 

Correct, would be the direct neighbor from the directions given in the article. Also really close to the freeway ramp. Honestly I don't think you could get a more convenient spot. I think it is a way better location to draw people to the park vs. now.

[Patrick425]

Just stay in AZ and I'll be happy. Florida is an armpit.

[folly412]

Just keep the upgrades coming. We're AAA and spring training away from having nice facilities/affiliates across the board (and possibly the Helena replacement, but small issue). The sooner the better, as unfortunately they're both arguably the worst in baseball.

[DHonks]

For those familiar with Gilbert or Phoenix in general, am I right that this would be right by Campo Verde High School?

 

Correct, would be the direct neighbor from the directions given in the article. Also really close to the freeway ramp. Honestly I don't think you could get a more convenient spot. I think it is a way better location to draw people to the park vs. now.

 

I don't know about that. The only major knock to the current location is the neighborhood is extreme poverty and high crime. It's easy to get to, but the Brewers have to play all day games for attendance purposes. With Gilbert, you're basically making it a pain to get to. Dealing with the 60 every day at rush hour is like dealing with the Marquette or Zoo Interchanges during the worst phases of their rebuilds. It's a highway with a large amount of accidents, fatalities, and just general gridlock. I don't anticipate people from the north, central, or western Valley going to games. The best locations I've heard about are the old ones mentioned--near the northeast corner of the 101 and north of the 101 just off the 17. Of course, selfishly, I live in the northern part of the valley. I just hate driving to Gilbert. If we're going to look at Gilbert, why not look into Tucson since they've gone from 3 to 0 teams? Why not look to Wild Horse Pass? Hopefully the Brewers are considering all options.

[Pugger]

Personally I would like the Brewers to have spring trainning in Florida, I would rather go to the beach than look at catcus or the mountains.

 

I live in FL so I'd love it if the Brewers' spring training moved to FL. Come to SW Florida and join Boston and the Twins.

 

This. But be prepared for the backlash on here. You know it rains sometimes in Florida and the parks are so far apart. :eyeroll:

 

It doesn't rain much down there until well after ST is over. During the winter it is like a desert in SW Florida where I live.

[Eye Black]

From this Tweet here is the Gilbert site proposal. This one seems further along publically than some of the past proposals....

 

[MrTPlush]

For those familiar with Gilbert or Phoenix in general, am I right that this would be right by Campo Verde High School?

 

Correct, would be the direct neighbor from the directions given in the article. Also really close to the freeway ramp. Honestly I don't think you could get a more convenient spot. I think it is a way better location to draw people to the park vs. now.

 

I don't know about that. The only major knock to the current location is the neighborhood is extreme poverty and high crime. It's easy to get to, but the Brewers have to play all day games for attendance purposes. With Gilbert, you're basically making it a pain to get to. Dealing with the 60 every day at rush hour is like dealing with the Marquette or Zoo Interchanges during the worst phases of their rebuilds. It's a highway with a large amount of accidents, fatalities, and just general gridlock. I don't anticipate people from the north, central, or western Valley going to games. The best locations I've heard about are the old ones mentioned--near the northeast corner of the 101 and north of the 101 just off the 17. Of course, selfishly, I live in the northern part of the valley. I just hate driving to Gilbert. If we're going to look at Gilbert, why not look into Tucson since they've gone from 3 to 0 teams? Why not look to Wild Horse Pass? Hopefully the Brewers are considering all options.

 

Regarding Tucson: There is a reason they went from 3 to 0. It was too far away and once one left they all wanted out. Closest drive would be two hours at best.

 

Regarding northern areas: Those also were good options, but the past one still with Phoenix died. I don't think Phoenix is going to help build a stadium. Last I checked they have a big problem called Chase Field. Just doesn't look like there is interest.

 

Back to Gilbert: Well they don't really need people from the north or western valley to go to games. I wouldn't expect anyone to drive past five different stadiums to get to ours. You are going to attract people who want to see the two specific teams playing and then locals. I'm going to guess you don't drive to Goodyear, right?

 

Going to Gilbert gives them an immediate attendance upgrade in my opinion(as other places would). It puts them in a more affluent neighborhood that can probably afford/want to go to games. It also gives them a pretty generous territory where they would be the easiest drive(Gilbert/Chandler/QC/San Tan). The Brewers fans will still come and I think you attract a lot more locals. I'd also wonder if there are more Brewer fans on the SE side of the valley. Most I know who have relocated there are in those SE burbs...though who knows.

 

I'm not saying there aren't other great locations, but for a franchise that draws the short end of the stick all the time this would be a pretty good get if it happens.

[MrTPlush]

On an unrelated note to the location I looked up the Cubs stadium deal to see how this proposal stacked up and it is actually pretty legitimate. The Cubs deal was $99mil and they were to pay $15mil. The Brewers proposal is $90mil and they are to pay $20mil. There are a lot of other moving parts of course, but the main framework is an aggressive starting point to get something done in my opinion.

[Eye Black]

From this Tweet here is the Gilbert site proposal. This one seems further along publically than some of the past proposals....

 

The News Article that accompanies the previously linked Tweet states...

 

"The report says the Brewers would pay for the cost of the stadium, estimated to be $75 million, and its yearly maintenance."

 

Not sure if something was lost in translation from the initial report, or if that is a change from what was initially report? A $75 million initial investment from the Brewers seems very steep.

 

For those looking for some extended reading material here is a link to the full 37-page PDF for the Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis of the Proposed Milwaukee Brewers Spring Training Facility & Mixed-Use Village (Gilbert, AZ).

[MrTPlush]

The report makes it seem like the Brewers have to make the full investment and Gilbert would be paying them $3.5mil a year. I couldn't find where it specified what exactly that $3.5mils intention was. I am guessing it is for maintenence costs, repayment of part of construction costs, and for future improvements/repairs. Not sure how good/bad that is without doing more number crunching than I care to do.

[Eye Black]

For those looking for some extended reading material here is a link to the full 37-page PDF for the Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis of the Proposed Milwaukee Brewers Spring Training Facility & Mixed-Use Village (Gilbert, AZ).

A lot to sift through here, but one of the more relevant sections from the document...

 

2.1 Project Description

 

The new stadium and mixed‐use village would be located at the northeast corner of Lindsay and Germann roads, on the south side of the Loop 202 in Gilbert, Arizona. The proposed site plan includes a 7,500‐seat stadium, a 55,000 square‐foot clubhouse, 10,000 square feet of front office space, 135,000 square feet of surrounding commercial space and two hotels totaling 220 rooms.

 

The preliminary plan for the Spring Training facility includes the construction and operation of the stadium by the Milwaukee Brewers with the Town making an annual contribution of $3.5 million. The Spring Training facilities would be dedicated to the Town.

 

On a side note, I like that the initial site map shows a 10,000 square foot Brewery located just past left field.

[Eye Black]

Assuming this is indeed the Twitter account of Gilbert Mayor Jenn Daniels (and it certainly appears legit) this isn't a good sign for the Brewers...

 

@GilbertAZMayor: The numbers just don't work for us but we wish the Brewers lots of success!

 

EDIT: It gets worse for those hoping this concept would come to fruition. The below screenshot taken from this Tweet. Well that was fun while it lasted.

 

[DHonks]

One thing that hurts is the local hotel and rental cars tax that was implemented to build and renovate spring training facilities has no money left and won't have any for a while thanks to all the new complexes.

[Invader3K]

One thing that hurts is the local hotel and rental cars tax that was implemented to build and renovate spring training facilities has no money left and won't have any for a while thanks to all the new complexes.

 

So we're a day late and a dollar short when it comes to the issue of a spring training facility, once again. Frustrating.

[A Swing and A Drive]

Anything to keep the Brewers in Arizona and out of Maryvale. Will make for long-ish trips between Gilbert and Surprise but still shorter than trips in the Grapefruit League.

 

Yah, they are in a great geographical location now. Too bad Maryville is terrible and the stadium is a dumpster.

 

I lived in neighboring Glendale a few years after Maryvale Stadium was built and worked at Maryvale in the ticket office for a season. It was my favorite Spring Training Stadium at the time and I visited every park. It is probably still in my Top 5 even with all the newer built ones since then. I love the outfield lawn and the area down the 1B line to seek autographs from players as they head to the locker room. Maryvale Baseball Stadium is like a young baseball fan's dream in my opinion.

 

Also, you posters that visited in your rental cars and haven't actually lived in this area are making out Maryvale to be like Compton or something.

 

I actually think it's pretty offensive actually to anyone who has actually lived in the area.

[MrTPlush]

You are assuming I have never lived in the Phoenix area? You have actually assumed wrong. Maryvale isn't terrible, but sure isn't anywhere close to nice. Especially compared to other burbs(most notably the one this stadium was going to be by).