Salt River Fields at Talking Stick

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick
The main entry to the stadium behind home plate.
Full name	Salt River Fields at Talking Stick
Location	7555 North Pima Road Scottsdale, Arizona 85258 PH# 480-270-5000
Coordinates	33°32′46″N 111°53′7″W / 33.54611°N 111.88528°W / 33.54611; -111.88528Coordinates: 33°32′46″N 111°53′7″W / 33.54611°N 111.88528°W / 33.54611; -111.88528
Broke ground	November 17, 2009
Opened	Grand Opening February 11, 2011 First game February 26, 2011
Owner	Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Surface	Bermuda Grass
Construction cost	$100 million
Architect	HKS, Inc.
General Contractor	Mortenson Construction
Capacity	11,000
Record attendance	12,514[1] February 26, 2011
Field dimensions	Left Field - 345 feet (105 m) Left-Center - 390 feet (119 m) Center Field - 410 feet (125 m) Right-Center - 390 feet (119 m) Right Field - 345 feet (105 m)[2]
Acreage	140 acres
Website	www.saltriverfields.com
Tenants
Colorado Rockies (MLB) (spring training) (2011–present) Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB) (spring training) (2011–present)

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is a stadium complex located in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, Arizona, at the former site of the Indian Bend Country Club. It is the newest Major League Baseball spring training facility home for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. The new facility replaces Tucson Electric Park for the Diamondbacks and Hi Corbett Field for the Rockies previous spring training facilities. The complex represents the first MLB park to be built on Native American Indian land.^[3]

History

Batting cages for the Colorado Rockies.

The stream leading to the lake at Salt River Fields.

In 2009 after the Chicago White Sox moved their spring training facilities from Tucson to Phoenix, the Diamondbacks and Rockies expressed their desire to leave Tucson. The teams began negotiations with multiple valley cities and Indian communities, with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community coming out on top with a 20-year commitment from the teams to the facility. Construction began on November 17, 2009 with an aggressive fast tracked schedule to get the stadium done by the 2011 spring training season.^[4]

The field turf is made up of a specially engineered Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass grown in Eloy, Arizona.^[5] There are 7,000 fixed seats in the grandstand and 4,000 lawn seats for a total estimated seating capacity of 11,000, however opening day attendance is listed as 12,514. There are also luxury suites, three party pavilions, and a kids zone. Each team has a 85,000-square-foot (7,900 m²) clubhouse (with offices, fitness, and locker rooms), six full size practice fields (one with the same dimensions as the respective teams home stadium), two infield only practice diamonds, batting cages.^[6] The Diamondbacks occupy the facilities along the left field and the Rockies are in the right field area. Several points of access to the stadium bring visitors in right through the middle of the practice fields and batting facilities. Additionally the complex also boasts two lit soccer fields and a three acre man made lake which is home to 17,000 fish.^[7]

The stadium was completed on time with the first game between the Diamondbacks and Rockies on February 26, 2011. The first pitch was delivered by Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Tribal President Diane Enos and Vice President Martin Harvier. The National Anthem was performed by Salt River Elementary School choir. The Rockies won the first game 8-7 after 10 innings of play.^[8] It has opened to rave reviews from the athletes, fans, and critics.^[9] Major league Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said "Everyone told me it was remarkable. It's even better than that."^[8]

According to the Arizona Republic, the Cactus League generates more than $300 million a year in economic impact to the greater Phoenix metropolitan area economy. The new Salt River Fields at Talking Stick complex is the latest of eight new stadiums built in the Valley of the Sun over the past 20 years. The Arizona Republic newspaper reports that more than $500 million has been spent on “building eight new stadiums and renovating two others for the 15 teams in the Valley.”^[8]

Attendance set a new record at 2011 Cactus League games with 1.59 million attending games at the various stadiums in the Phoenix metro area. Much of the attendance surge is attributed to the new Salt Rivers Fields at Talking Stick venue that accounted for 22 percent of the Cactus League attendance.^[10] In the inaugural spring training season at the park, the Arizona Diamondbacks enjoyed a record-breaking 189,737 spectators at 17 spring training games, with an average of 11,161 spectators per game, up more than 90 percent from 2010.^[11]

References

1. ^ "D-backs set Spring Training total attendance record in inaugural season at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick". Arizona Diamondbacks Press Release. 2011-03-07. http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20110307&content_id=16850024&vkey=pr_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari&tcid=fb-ari-misc39. 
2. ^ Peter Corbett (2010-08-16). "Design of Arizona Diamondbacks' new spring stadium seeks to immerse fans in baseball". Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/2010/08/15/20100815arizona-diamondbacks-spring-training-stadium.html. 
3. ^ “Salt River Fields to Host MLB Spring Training.” Laskaris February 14, 2011.
4. ^ Peter Corbett (2009-03-06). "Tribe making pitch for D-Backs facility". Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/03/06/20090306dbacksrfp06-ON.html. 
5. ^ Peter Corbett (2010-07-02). "Grass grows, lights up at Salt River Fields". Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/07/02/20100702arizona-diamondbacks-salt-river-practice-fields.html. 
6. ^ "Salt River Fields by the numbers". Arizona Republic. 2011-01-19. http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2011/01/19/20110119salt-river-fields-by-numbers.html. 
7. ^ "Thousands of Fish Find Home at Salt River Fields". 2010-06-24. http://www.saltriverfields.com/media/news-archive/10-06-24/Thousands_of_Fish_Find_Home_at_Salt_River_Fields.aspx. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} Peter Corbett (2011-02-27). "Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies break in new park". Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/cactus/articles/2011/02/27/20110227diamondbacks-salt-river-fields-cactus-league.html. 
9. ^ Scott Bordow (2011-02-26). "Bordow: Salt River Fields lives up to billing". Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/cactus/articles/2011/02/26/20110226bordow-salt-river-fields-lives-up-billing.html. 
10. ^ Peter Corbett (2011-03-30). "New venue helps Cactus League set attendance mark". Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2011/03/30/20110330cactus-league-attendance-record.html. 
11. ^ Bob McManaman (2011-03-29). "Arizona Diamondbacks wrap up record spring at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick". Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/2011/03/29/20110329arizona-diamondbacks-record-spring-salt-river-fields.html. 

External links

• Official Site
• Tickets
• Digitalballparks.com 33 page gallery review

Preceded by Tucson Electric Park	Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training 2011 – present	Succeeded by Current
Preceded by Hi Corbett Field	Home of the Colorado Rockies Spring Training 2011 – present	Succeeded by Current