Spring Training Stadium Showcase: Scottsdale Stadium
Scottsdale Stadium (pictured upper right) has been the spring training home of the San Francisco Giants since 1992. With it's distinct western location, and because the Phoenix/Scottsdale area is under a two-hour flight from the SF Bay Area, the ballpark has become a major hub for Giants supporters, who either travel to or already reside in the desert.
Winning three World Series in five years clearly adds to the buzz surrounding the team's Cactus League following.
The best thing that Scottsdale Stadium has going for it has everything to do with its centralized location, right in the heart of the very urban and trendy Old Town Scottsdale area. It can easily be argued that Old Town Scottsdale stands as the entertainment hub of the entire Phoenix metro. Old Town's vast amount of hotels, bars and restaurants turns into a baseball fan and vacationer hangout, throughout the month of March.
Scottsdale Stadium sits 11 miles from downtown Phoenix and an easy driving distance from many high-end resorts and golf courses, including those in the nearby Camelback Corridor area.
The venue itself possesses a classic, compact feel, different from the many newer, more suburban-based complexes around the Cactus League. Below is an in game photo from Scottsdale Stadium, also captured a few years back.
By the way, it should be noted that the Cactus League is a baseball fans dream, as there are 15 MLB teams that train within 46 miles of each other, all amid the Phoenix metropolitan area.
