Camelback Ranch
 View from Right Field, Camelback Ranch, Phoenix, Az. | |
 | |
| Location | 10712 W. Camelback Road Phoenix, AZ 85037 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°30′51″N 112°17′45″W / 33.51417°N 112.29583°W |
| Capacity | 10,000 seats, 3,000 berm (grass) seats. |
| Record attendance | 13,583 March 27, 2010 Seattle Mariners vs. Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Field size | Left Field – 345 feet (105 m) Left-Center – 380 feet (116 m) Center Field – 410 feet (125 m) Right-Center – 380 feet (116 m) Right Field – 345 feet (105 m) |
| Surface | grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | 2008–2009 |
| Opened | March 1, 2009 |
| Construction cost | US$121 million [1] |
| Architect | HKS |
| Tenants | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) (spring training) (2009–present) Chicago White Sox (MLB) (spring training) (2009–present) Arizona League Dodgers (Arizona League) (2009–present) Glendale Desert Dogs (2013–present) | |
Camelback Ranch-Glendale is a stadium in Phoenix, Arizona owned and operated by the city of Glendale, Arizona. It is the spring training homes of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. The stadium holds 13,000 people.
Camelback Ranch replaces Holman Stadium in Vero Beach, Florida as the Dodgers' spring training home, and Tucson Electric Park in Tucson, Arizona as the White Sox spring training home.
The park is also home to the Arizona League Dodgers, who moved to Camelback Ranch with the Major League team in 2009. The Arizona League White Sox play there as of 2014, after the White Sox rejoined the Arizona rookie circuit.
The stadium name is derived from the longstanding name of the property it is built on.[2]
Roger Bossard, White Sox head groundskeeper, designed and put in all of the fields for the Dodgers and the White Sox. During the park's first year, Dodgers fans have noted and expressed their dismay at the absence of the Dodger Dog at the ballpark concession stands.[3] The following season, Dodger Dogs began to be sold at the ballpark.
History
Camelback Ranch opened on March 1, 2009 for the spring training home opener between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers took a 2–0 lead into the top ninth until the White Sox came back to defeat them 3–2. (Attendance: 11,280)
In 2015, the Dodgers drew 147,066 fans to their 15 spring training games at Camelback Ranch (an average of just over 9,804 per game), setting a new franchise spring training record.[4]
Ranch novelties
- 10,000-plus seats, 3,000 bermed grass seating. There are 8 full suites, 4 mini-suites, a press box, a suite-level party deck, and a series of outfield terraces that create party areas.
- A fish-stocked lake that separates the Dodgers and White Sox training facilities and offers aesthetic beauty and irrigation to complex landscaping and playing fields.
- Over 5,000 plants and trees.
- Stadium playing field sunken 12 feet below grade to improve sightlines.
- A mixture of architectural touches—natural stone veneers, tri-color faux staining, rusty metal panels,
- Gabion (rock) retaining walls, earth-tone (caramel) stadium seat color, and other appointments—that blend with the natural desert colors of Arizona. Additionally, construction utilizes sweeps and angles instead of a big-box look.
- Main entrance (Pavilion) in center field.
- Asymmetrical team support buildings.
- Orange grove.
- Replica home fields (Dodger Stadium, U.S. Cellular Field)
- 12 practice diamonds and three practice infields
- Access tunnels for players to enter the stadium from their clubhouses.
- Bandstand for pre-game entertainment
- Walk of Fame along the water feature.
Notes
- ^ http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2009/12/11/20091211gl-ballpark1211-ON.html
- ^ "Glendale's ballpark gets a name: Camelback Ranch". Arizona Republic. 2008-11-21.
- ^ Bill Plaschke (2009-03-08). "Dodgers' new spring home in Phoenix is a site to behold". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Stephen, Eric (May 31, 2015). "Dodgers set spring training franchise attendance record". truebluela.com. Retrieved April 1, 2015.