PEORIA, Ariz. — Ever been to Cheney to watch a Seahawks training camp?
Watching those giants push each other around a distant field is like watching paint dry. They are anonymous in their gear and the drills are as boring to watch as they are to do. And while one waits for the opportunity to badger a player who is dying for a shower for his autograph, there is barely a concession stand or souvenir stand in sight. And when the day is over, you can experience the vibrant nightlife of Eastern Washington.
Baseball on the other hand, knows how to get a fan excited. A recent trip to the Arizona desert showed why fans have turned spring training into family vacation material, why the local economies of Arizona and Florida have come to depend on those tourist dollars and why we all start talking baseball before Groundhog Day.
A recent visit to the Seattle Mariners operation in Peoria, a distant suburb of Phoenix, was eye-popping.
When I first attended spring training as a college student in Arizona in the 1970s, there were a handful of teams holding spring training in the area. The Cubs, Angels, Brewers, A’s and newly formed Mariners were all playing in glorified community stadiums in and around Phoenix. Two more teams were 100 miles away in Tucson.
The stadiums were bare bones operations. Not a lot of room for training facilities other than batting cages.
But the new facilities like Peoria are palatial and friendly to fans and players alike.
Practice fields, training rooms, physio areas, film rooms and the like abound.
For fans, it has gotten just as good. A quarter century ago, there games were attended by retirees, slacker college students like me, and thousands of Cubs fans escaping from the wonderful winter weather on Lakeside Drive. The old stadiums offered questionable hot dogs, warm beer and cheesy souvenirs.
Now, a place like Peoria is built with the fan in mind.
Two teams, Seattle and San Diego, share the stadium, which separates their training areas. That assures the city, which owns the facility, daily games throughout the six weeks of spring training.
The actual stadium is a fancy 8,600-seat minor league park built with all the amenities. There are wide aisles, comfortable seats, quality sight lines and an intimate feel to the place.
Even though spring training games had yet to begin on my visit last week, the two-team souvenir shop was in full swing and packed with shoppers. And the merchandise was actually quality stuff, albeit at Safeco Field prices. Guess they figure even your wallet needs a little limbering up for the season.
And food was not a problem. An examination of the menu showed that fans could have a wide assortment of foods, even at spring training. There was even a stand being set up to sell margaritas. I don’t think I have seen that one at Safeco Field.
If stadium fare isn’t your fare, Peoria has grown from a tumbleweed-ravaged crossroads to a gigantic modern strip mall of restaurants of all stripes. Just off the parking lot there is even a Seattle favorite, Red Robin.
The day I was in town, the parking lot was filled with a carnival and food booths celebrating an Italian Food Festival that also doubles as a fan fest.
While there was no game the day I was there, I did find my way to a seat in the stadium. The gentle breezes and 75-degree temperatures were enough for me. I could have sat for hours just dreaming about the season ahead.
All I needed to complete the scene was that margarita to go on sale in the concession stands.
Morris Malakoff covers Mill Creek for The Enterprise Newspapers. Questions and comments may be sent via e-mail to entsports@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-774-8622 or by mail to: Sports editor, The Enterprise, 4303 198th St. SW., Lynnwood, WA 98036.
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