Phoenix Municipal Stadium
Arizona State Sun Devils vs UNLV Rebels, 2/21/23
Pitchers and catchers have reported to the Valley, but with no games just yet I grabbed a ticket to a Tuesday night college game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. It was UNLV visiting ASU.
ASU vs UNLV, 6:00pm, $10 (plus $4.60 in Ticketmaster fees, $5 for parking: $19.60 total) Section 4, Row 8, Seat 1
The Stadium: The stadium itself has been around since 1964, almost 60 years. Before ASU relocated from campus to this field at Papago Park a few miles east of downtown Phoenix, it was the spring home of the Giants and then the A’s until 2015. ASU’s golf teams also have relocated from campus (RIP Karsten) to the Papago Golf Course owned by the city. It’s gotten some upgrades since my first visit in 2006, but still looks like something built in 1964 which I like. At the bottom are a couple of extra pics from 2006 and 2013 when Spring Training was still held here.
The Game: It’s still early in the college baseball season and this game was nothing too exciting. The Sun Devils won 6-3, going yard three times. You can tell it’s early since there were 12 combined pitchers used for 8.5 innings, five Rebels and seven Sun Devils. Even with 19 combined hits and 9 walks, the game went by quickly at 2 hours and 36 minutes. I’m used to college baseball games that take forever so this was a welcome change. That 20-second pitch clock is a game-changer.
The Fans: The attendance wasn’t much, given it was a Tuesday night in February on a windy night that dipped into the low-50’s. I’d guess maybe 800 fans were there, and I didn’t get a chance to talk to any of them. I’m too old to sit next to a row of sorority girls and not make an idiot of myself so I just bundled up and enjoyed live baseball. It’s Spring Training for me, too.
