So, the deal with the Cubbies didn’t work out? No biggie. Instead of heading a little bit east to play ball, the Sun Devils will head a bit west to the Tempe / Phoenix border where they will begin playing baseball at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The lease with Phoenix is for 25 years and it sounds like ASU will have much more control over the operations, advertising and facility than what the Cubs were willing or able to give. Personally, I think this location will work very nicely. Heck, the location is really no different than the current location if you are taking the train. Instead of Rural and University, get off at Priest an Washington and head north to the stadium. Maybe we’ll even see some shuttle services getting people to and from the games and the trains? As you can see by this map of the light rail line, the distance between Priest and Washington and Phoenix Municipal Stadium isn’t too far.
View Phoenix Valley METRO Light Rail Map in a larger map
Phoenix City Council member Sal DiCiccio shared the following quote on his Facebook page today:
“Dear Friends and Neighbors, I would like to welcome ASU to the district. Yesterday, the City Council approved a 25-year lease with ASU to use Phoenix Municipal Stadium beginning in 2015. This is beneficial for a variety of reasons; most importantly ASU can dominate U of A baseball right here in Phoenix.”
Phoenix Municipal Stadium holds 8000 people. ASU plans to add a new video board, new signage and to make themselves at home in their new digs in the near future. This looks to be a good fit for Phoenix and for Tempe. After all, win-win situations are what ASU baseball is all about…
Leave a Reply