Spring Training 1

With Spring Training upon us, I thought I'd take some time over the next few weeks to look at the new facilities and assorted gadgetry that will make its debut across the ballparks and 'mallparks' of Arizona and Florida. The Cleveland Indians are up first; their fantastic new facility in Goodyear Arizona has all the makings of a blueprint for other MLB clubs to follow: real practice and workout facilities for personnel, easy access to high-end urban shopping and restaurants, expansion options, a design compatible with its surroundings, and lest we forget... Club Suites! For only $75 million, this too, can be yours.

Goodyear AZ is in fact named after that bastion of Ohio manufacturing, the Goodyear tire company in Akron, so its fitting that the Indians ended up here. And with apologies to the good people of Winter Haven, it's a clean break from the baggage that weighed them down at that facility. The current US economy will prevent some of the more elaborate entertainment and business options at the complex (does anything get built without conference centers and an on-site hotel anymore?) but as you can see from the photos there is ample room for growth, and the complex is a straight-shot of 30 minutes from downtown Phoenix on I-10. Companies and sponsors wanting to create an "Indians getaway" for staff or friends won't be short on options.

ed: Remember when Spring Training used to be about baseball? And it was cheap? No more. Spring Training is an event, and events demand financial commitment. Especially from you, dear consumer.

It should come as no surprise that HOK, the 800 lb. gorilla of world stadium design, are behind the beautiful design. We're loathe to call it "post-modern" but modern and classy it is, as if Bloomingdale's Home Outlet decided to pitch in on the project. When the grand entrance is fleshed out with plant life/grass/walkways it should make for a striking entrance. The gradual slope of the seating bowl and the wide concourse give the stadium a European feel (ex: review some of the Portuguese stadiums used for Euro 2004) and are a subtle nod to the flat landscape it faces on the outskirts of the hardscrabble desert. A tip of the proverbial ballcap to the Indians, HOK, RTKL and the municipality of Goodyear for pulling this off.