Surprise Stadium — Attraction in Surprise

Be sure to ask for Autographs

Been promising my son that we’d come out for Spring Training for nearly ten years. We finally made it and have been pleasantly surprised. If you arrive a little early, there’s no traffic and free parking just across the street. Security with their metal detectors and bag checks (clear-bag rule in effect) were quick and efficient, and the electronic ticket-takers were all working smoothly, so entering the stadium took only moments. There is plenty of staff, who all seemed friendly and frequently asked how they could help.

Surprise Stadium is small and intimate (like a minor league park), but is in tip-top shape, with everything bright, clean and in working-order. It has an excellent design to maximize the whole ball-park experience. The seats are all close to the action so don’t worry if you can’t get a seat in the front rows. It is small enough to get in close to the players for a chance at a photo or autograph. My son and I were able to persuade several “big-name” starters to sign our caps / gloves. We were lucky enough to get tickets close to the dugout and felt right in the middle of the action. We were right up close to all the starters and quite a few AAA hopefuls.

Great ball park food - brats, dogs, fries, beer (cans and draught), fries, nachos, all at (typical) ball-park prices. Food and drink vendors are located in the shaded area just behind the seats. There are plenty of vendors so I was frequently first in line, and never waited more than 2-3 people. The cashless payment system was quick and easy. The bathrooms are conveniently placed with plenty of stalls / sinks for easy in and out.

The new MLB rules sped up the pace of play, so the action never lagged. The final out was only 2-1/2 hours after first pitch. A great experience overall. It is in the bright Arizona sun, so bring sunscreen and a hat.

Like a minor league game with major league players. We...

We went there for the City of Surprise's 4th of July celebration. It was a bit disappointing. There was alot less vendors this year than were there during past 4th of July celebrations. Not to mention that the beer was $5 per 12oz. can and $7 for a 24oz. tallboy. Despite $3 for a regular hot dog and $5 for a jumbo, the hot dogs had been cooked God knows when and kept in as warmer, not cooked fresh! The snow cone shop ran out of the most popular flavor, cherry, and they promised that more was on its way, but it never showed up. And at $3 each, you had to stick with whatever they had left, which wasn't much. The worst part was the nachos. I had a concession person try to sell me a tray of broken bits of tortilla chips, none bigger than the size of a 50 cent piece, a small 2 oz. cup of cheese, and a 1 oz. cup of jalapenos, for $5. When I asked for a new tray of chips, a tray where they weren't all broken up, and another container of jalapenos, the worker gave me sort of a crappy look, but she got it for me (the second container of chips wasn't much better). However, when I told her, "Thank you," she said NOTHING and went about working with the next customer like I wasn't even there! I think that next year, my wife and I will go to Carrabba's for dinner and then watch the fireworks from the parking lot. At least I'll know that the food will be better AND there will be air conditioning (no smelling the sweaty people in front of you and the little kid behind you who just dropped a deuce)! The whole place smelled like body odor and ketchup, kind of like the inside of a...

Outstanding venue to watch baseball, the conversation between fans is friendly and interesting, people from all parts of the this great country, coming together to talk baseball and support their team. I would recommend that all baseball fans bring their kids to spring training at least once. Tickets were affordablely priceed. We sat three quarters of the way down the first base foul line, in the second row for $ 24.00. The Stadium is very small and there's not a bad seat in the house. Very kid friendly, they threw and handed out a lot of baseballs into the seats for the small kids. Several young players did sign autographs on this day, however the big name players avoided the crowds I'm assuming because of the flu scare, which makes no sense to me unless they decontaminated and or quarantined the young players after the autograph session. The food options are good from what I could see around us, snow cones, large funnel cake, and flautas, and of course the standards, peanuts, popcorn, and beer. I'm not sure of the prices because we brought in our own fried chicken with drinks in sealed plastic bottles, they do check at the gates. We will be back next year for sure, I...