Brewers Maryvale Spring Training Lease

[jerichoholicninja]

For a Brewer fan, a ST move to Florida would be terrible (unless you already live near Florida). I just can't see anything good about the fan experience for Florida spring training.

[Warning Track Power]

i went to Maryvale 3 seasons ago, and got to drive by a few other facilities. I really hope they stay in Arizona but leave Maryvale.

Amen to this...

 

The area around Maryvale is terrible in general but especially so when compared to where the Dodgers, White Sox, Royals, Rangers, Reds, Indians, Giants, Mariners, Padres, Rockies and Diamondbacks all play (not sure about Mesa and where the new Cubs park is and where the A's play). I would rather go to any of those stadiums rather than Maryvale.

[AZBrewCrew]

Yes Maryvale is ghetto, but as long as you mind your business and leave before dark you'll be fine. Phoenix Police has a pretty visible presence during games as well. Besides, alot of us in AZ conceal carry

[Patrick425]

Yes Maryvale is ghetto

 

I think people that read a statement like this (and I have seen similar statements on this site), and have never been there, think "geez sounds dangerous!" and picture driving through a neighborhood where there is constant gunfire and gangs roaming everywhere. When we go there, we generally take I-10 and get off at 51st street, taking that straight to the park (a little less than 3 miles). With the exception of maybe 1 or 2 games, all of the games are day games and I have never felt at all in harms way driving to or from the park. To me it's no scarier than driving through West Allis (where I grew up) or down Capitol Drive in Milwaukee during the day. And once you are in the park, there is zero thought of being in any type of "bad" neighborhood. The really nice thing about the park is the easy access to the practice fields. I don't think all the ST parks have this.

 

This is me being a bit selfish, but I do fear that if they move to a "nicer" community that the crowds will get bigger and the prices will increase a bit. The crowds getting bigger would be puzzling to me, because that would mean people were avoiding Maryvale because of the neighborhood...which is silly.

 

I guess I can understand the complaint about the neighborhood if you don't plan on getting a rental car. Otherwise, there really is no reason to stay near the park. Even if the Brewers moved to Mesa, or Scottsdale, or wherever, we would always just stay at a place that offers us the best value for our money and drive to where ever the Brewers happen to be playing.

 

Edit: I guess the analogy I would use is if the Milwaukee area was a ST site (ignoring the weather), it seems like it would be similar to a park being in West Allis, or 76th and Capitol when all the other parks are in places like Mequon, Elm Grove, and Germantown.

[wibadgers23]

A little off topic, but do these spring training games ever sell out? I will be attending my first ST game on March 25 in Maryvale and not sure if I should buy tickets now or if I can wait until we get to the stadium.

[lcbj68c]

A little off topic, but do these spring training games ever sell out? I will be attending my first ST game on March 25 in Maryvale and not sure if I should buy tickets now or if I can wait until we get to the stadium.

 

I'm inclined to say no. There are 7,000 fixed seats + the berm and the Brewers only draw on average 5,200 at Maryvale. God forbid there by a sellout, i'd bet the secondary market is teeming with alternatives.

[Dean Machine]

Yes Maryvale is ghetto

 

I think people that read a statement like this (and I have seen similar statements on this site), and have never been there, think "geez sounds dangerous!" and picture driving through a neighborhood where there is constant gunfire and gangs roaming everywhere. When we go there, we generally take I-10 and get off at 51st street, taking that straight to the park (a little less than 3 miles). With the exception of maybe 1 or 2 games, all of the games are day games and I have never felt at all in harms way driving to or from the park. To me it's no scarier than driving through West Allis (where I grew up) or down Capitol Drive in Milwaukee during the day. And once you are in the park, there is zero thought of being in any type of "bad" neighborhood. The really nice thing about the park is the easy access to the practice fields. I don't think all the ST parks have this.

 

This is me being a bit selfish, but I do fear that if they move to a "nicer" community that the crowds will get bigger and the prices will increase a bit. The crowds getting bigger would be puzzling to me, because that would mean people were avoiding Maryvale because of the neighborhood...which is silly.

 

I guess I can understand the complaint about the neighborhood if you don't plan on getting a rental car. Otherwise, there really is no reason to stay near the park. Even if the Brewers moved to Mesa, or Scottsdale, or wherever, we would always just stay at a place that offers us the best value for our money and drive to where ever the Brewers happen to be playing.

 

Edit: I guess the analogy I would use is if the Milwaukee area was a ST site (ignoring the weather), it seems like it would be similar to a park being in West Allis, or 76th and Capitol when all the other parks are in places like Mequon, Elm Grove, and Germantown.

 

Ditto. Literally my exact thoughts.

[AZBrewCrew]

A little off topic, but do these spring training games ever sell out? I will be attending my first ST game on March 25 in Maryvale and not sure if I should buy tickets now or if I can wait until we get to the stadium.

 

I'm inclined to say no. There are 7,000 fixed seats + the berm and the Brewers only draw on average 5,200 at Maryvale. God forbid there by a sellout, i'd bet the secondary market is teeming with alternatives.

Ive been out here for 13 years now and I think ive maybe seen 1 or 2 sellouts in that time. Simply put, Maryvale doesnt sell out. The Royals and Giants will draw decent crowds but with a plethora of lawn seating you should be fine. Also the larger crowds seem to be the week before you are planning to attend, when spring break is in full swing. The last week of March the crowds start to dwindle

[BarneyStinston]

Maryvale has been in urban decline for quite a while. There is no future for enterprises who wish to grow and flourish. That's why the malls there has been long abandoned. The only good move for the Brewers was to get out ASAP. Outside of the ballpark, the only reason to go to Maryvale is for a police ride-along to see some gang activity and wild chihuahuas.

[Mass Haas]

My opponent has traded her future vote on this issue in exchange for campaign contributions of $31,725 from Milwaukee Brewers' executives, lobbyists and special interests. This means that if she is elected she will increase taxes for Peoria's residents.

 

Looks like the Brewers have their hopeful eye on Peoria (link to the above blurb).

[Warning Track Power]

Go Binsbacher...if for no other reason than to keep the Brewers in Arizona and out of Maryvale.

[DHonks]

BarneyStinston, actually I'd go to Maryvale to play the muni golf course. It's a reasonably priced gem in a Valley of $200 courses

[645]

Maybe the Brewers could renovate Compadre Stadium

 

....okay, probably not.

 

Sounds like a good idea so that we can have Bob the Sheep become fiends with Hank the dog.

[Warning Track Power]

http://m.yourwestvalley.com/peoria/article_555a2044-c79d-11e4-84cf-4b09e9241cb0.html?mode=jqm

 

Looks like the Brewers candidate won...will be interesting to see what will happen next in Peoria.

[nate82]

http://m.yourwestvalley.com/peoria/article_555a2044-c79d-11e4-84cf-4b09e9241cb0.html?mode=jqm

 

Looks like the Brewers candidate won...will be interesting to see what will happen next in Peoria.

 

Depending on how much the spring training facilities will cost it may or may not have to go on a public vote. I believe it is anything greater than or equal to $500k. Hey if it gets passed I can basically walk to the spring training facilities so a bonus for me.

[Point Beer Is Best]

My parents have been spending their Feb/Mar months in their RV in AZ the past few years, and are now looking to buy a house in Buckeye to stay in the entire winter. My boys are 3 & 4 years old, so I'm hoping AZ continues to be the Spring Training location since the plan is to go down there every year for ST in the near future as the kids get a bit older and will enjoy it (hopefully) as much as I do. A new ballpark in a safer area will be a definite bonus.

[bjkrautk]

Having spent last week in Arizona, I have to agree with Patrick and Dean Machine.

 

Maryvale is not exactly prime real estate, but the games start at 1 in the afternoon. Never felt unsafe while I was there; you park in the Brewers lot, and you drive away during daylight. I don't go to the park for the facilities; I went for the games themselves. Maryvale had more shaded seating areas than Glendale (Dodgers / White Sox) or Peoria's (Mariners / Padres) facilities....which is kind of a big deal when the temps are in the upper 80s and you're coming from Wisconsin winter. (Even some of the lawn seats are in the shade in Maryvale.)

 

Lest it go unsaid, Maryvale tickets are a bargain. The most expensive seats in the park in Maryvale ($23 / ticket) are nearly the same price as lawn seating to see the Giants games in Scottsdale ($20 -vs- $8 for lawn seating in Maryvale). Unless the locker / training facilities are demonstrably poorer for the Maryvale facility than elsewhere....I tend to prefer the low prices.

[wildcat2237]

Having spent last week in Arizona, I have to agree with Patrick and Dean Machine.

 

Maryvale is not exactly prime real estate, but the games start at 1 in the afternoon. Never felt unsafe while I was there; you park in the Brewers lot, and you drive away during daylight. I don't go to the park for the facilities; I went for the games themselves. Maryvale had more shaded seating areas than Glendale (Dodgers / White Sox) or Peoria's (Mariners / Padres) facilities....which is kind of a big deal when the temps are in the upper 80s and you're coming from Wisconsin winter. (Even some of the lawn seats are in the shade in Maryvale.)

 

Lest it go unsaid, Maryvale tickets are a bargain. The most expensive seats in the park in Maryvale ($23 / ticket) are nearly the same price as lawn seating to see the Giants games in Scottsdale ($20 -vs- $8 for lawn seating in Maryvale). Unless the locker / training facilities are demonstrably poorer for the Maryvale facility than elsewhere....I tend to prefer the low prices.

 

It should be noted that Tickets at Peoria Sports Complex are pretty cheap as well. I scored two tickets behind the brewers dugout for Fridays game against the mariners for $60. Tickets for the Brewers games in Goodyear against the Reds and Indians are also on group for cheap.

 

It's the Scottsdale and Mesa facilities that are ridiculous in price. I'd be very happy with a future west valley stadium.

[Patrick425]

Having spent last week in Arizona, I have to agree with Patrick and Dean Machine.

 

Maryvale is not exactly prime real estate, but the games start at 1 in the afternoon. Never felt unsafe while I was there; you park in the Brewers lot, and you drive away during daylight. I don't go to the park for the facilities; I went for the games themselves. Maryvale had more shaded seating areas than Glendale (Dodgers / White Sox) or Peoria's (Mariners / Padres) facilities....which is kind of a big deal when the temps are in the upper 80s and you're coming from Wisconsin winter. (Even some of the lawn seats are in the shade in Maryvale.)

 

Lest it go unsaid, Maryvale tickets are a bargain. The most expensive seats in the park in Maryvale ($23 / ticket) are nearly the same price as lawn seating to see the Giants games in Scottsdale ($20 -vs- $8 for lawn seating in Maryvale). Unless the locker / training facilities are demonstrably poorer for the Maryvale facility than elsewhere....I tend to prefer the low prices.

 

It should be noted that Tickets at Peoria Sports Complex are pretty cheap as well. I scored two tickets behind the brewers dugout for Fridays game against the mariners for $60. Tickets for the Brewers games in Goodyear against the Reds and Indians are also on group for cheap.

 

It's the Scottsdale and Mesa facilities that are ridiculous in price. I'd be very happy with a future west valley stadium.

 

It's great to sit behind the Brewer's dugout, but I still find $30 a ticket (I'm assuming that's what you meant) to be a bit much for an exhibition game where all the regulars are not going to start and those who do will leave the game after the 5th inning. For $30, you can get decent tickets at Miller Park for a regular season game. In general, I have seen the popularity of spring training go up over the last 12 years. The first year we went (12 years ago), I felt like we were some of the only Brewer fans there (at least during the first week of games when we usually go). It was almost like the players would look at us in surprise to see someone wearing Brewers clothing. With the rising popularity of ST, the ticket prices have also risen...but, in general, AZ still is much cheaper than FL.

 

One odd item. Every year we ask our season ticket rep to see if he can get us front row, first base line, next to the dugout (the outfield side of the dugout) tickets for one game. He is usually able to do this. So, when we were there last week we had front row tickets to the Brewer/Royals game on the 9th. At the start of the game, as usual, a lot of people come down to the first row to get autographs. Once the game started and everyone went back to their seats, there was no one in the front row except us!? I felt like people were looking at us as if those were not really our seats. My wife ended up not feeling well and we needed to take her back to where we were staying. My son and I went back to the game and got back to our seats at the start of the 5th inning. A couple of people had taken our seats, but other than that there was still no one in the first row. We just took seats next to them. The 2 or 3 rows behind us were full, but not the first row. I had never seen that before and I can't understand why they did not sell those tickets.

[Dean Machine]

I returned from a trip to AZ about a week ago and as I sat and watched the Brewers top prospects play a intersquad game from literally one foot away from the dugout (which is chainlinked) and I could hear the players telling dirty jokes and laughing and then I could hear the coaches comment on them and their at-bats etc. as they took the field I thought once again that everyone is insane to want a new facility. I've been to maybe 6 or 7 facilities in AZ and several in Florida and none of them offer the kind of access that Brewer fans enjoy.

[pacopete4]

BarneyStinston, actually I'd go to Maryvale to play the muni golf course. It's a reasonably priced gem in a Valley of $200 courses

 

 

I am going there over my spring break so I thought I'd look this one up and it's closed until Fall of 2015. Dangit!

 

Any other suggestions for reasonable priced, nice golf course in Phoenix area?

[Patrick425]

I returned from a trip to AZ about a week ago and as I sat and watched the Brewers top prospects play a intersquad game from literally one foot away from the dugout (which is chainlinked) and I could hear the players telling dirty jokes and laughing and then I could hear the coaches comment on them and their at-bats etc. as they took the field I thought once again that everyone is insane to want a new facility. I've been to maybe 6 or 7 facilities in AZ and several in Florida and none of them offer the kind of access that Brewer fans enjoy.

 

The first time we did this before a ST game we were waiting for someone to tell us that we couldn't be back there. We were amazed at the access we had. This year when we were walking around back there we walked right past Don Money...practically ran into him!

 

Sad thing is that I know someday, next year or 5 years from now or whenever, they will move to a new facility. I'm sure the new facility will be very nice, but it won't stop me from lamenting about Maryvale.

[FVBrewerFan]

I had similar access, experiences in Chandler, so maybe it's more about the organization than facility? I don't really mind Maryvale, other than (for whatever reason) I like the other side of town more. Scottsdale down through Chandler/Gilbert.

[DHonks]

Brew4u, I forgot that Grand Canyon Univ is investing a crap-ton of money in updating Maryvale Golf Course to bring it up to D1 standards.

 

For a bargain, there's Aguila Golf Course in the southwest valley.

[JackNicholson1974]

I returned from a trip to AZ about a week ago and as I sat and watched the Brewers top prospects play a intersquad game from literally one foot away from the dugout (which is chainlinked) and I could hear the players telling dirty jokes and laughing and then I could hear the coaches comment on them and their at-bats etc. as they took the field I thought once again that everyone is insane to want a new facility. I've been to maybe 6 or 7 facilities in AZ and several in Florida and none of them offer the kind of access that Brewer fans enjoy.

 

I echo this sentiment and will add a little anecdote as well. My dad was watching one of those games when Cecil Cooper was coaching in the system. He sat about where you did, practically in the dugout. After the game and the players left he shot the bull with Coop while the two of them swept of the sunflower seed shells in the dugout. Pretty neat story.

 

That being said, Maryvale is pretty bad.