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| - Phoenix Muni, the Arizona facility of the Oakland A's, is my spring home park and I love it. It's one of the older parks in the Cactus League so it is unique and doesn't look like a small scale replica of an HOK stadium. A couple of years ago the city "upgraded" it a bit, which for the fans' point of view mostly consisted of the addition of some weird gutter-like metal siding and new signage. I hope the improvements to the player and front office areas were better.
If you can get the box seats by the tarp they're awesome, as you're practically in the game and are seated on folding chairs, but if not any other seat is good. As it's a small spring facility there isn't a bad seat in the house-- even the bleachers down the line are nice and close to the action. Sit on the first base line along the infield if you want to be interspersed with "official" A's folks-- from Billy Beane to Mickey Morabito. You also get an amusing view of the players wives-- who are easy to ID by their dyed hair and huge diamonds.
If you want to escape the March heat-- and it can be hot at times-- opt for seats behind the plate and above the concourse. The shade from the overhang supplies at least a little relief from the sun, and if you get close to the "booth" (a concrete box) you can hear the radio announcers do play-by-play.
Muni doesn't have grass seating, which is the only real bummer about the whole park.
St. Patrick's Day is always huge at Phoenix Muni, with standing room only crowds and a fun party atmosphere. Crowds are good through out the spring as the trip from Oakland is an easy one to make. Muni has lights and hosts periodic night games, which are a nice change of pace. If you plan to travel to spring training get your Muni tickets early as many of the games do sell out.
Parking is located across the street and accessed by a sky ramp which gives you a unique view of the stadium as you walk in. There isn't close street parking, so if you aren't staying close enough to walk budget the $5-6 per game. While it is a pretty big lot I've always found it to be easy to get in and out of.
Unlike some of the new stadiums in the hinterlands Muni is in central Phoenix and close to lots of after game fun-- a five minute drive to Tempe, Scottsdale and downtown Phoenix. It's also very close to the A's practice facilities at Papago Park, in case you're interested in watching practice in the AM, and it's directly next door to the Papago Gardens, which are a great place to explore.
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