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| - As a Dodgers' fan; Camelback Ranch is baseball heaven. CBR is one of the two newest Spring Training facilities in the Cactus league with only the DBacks' Salt Rivers Field at Talking Stick and the soon to be finished Cubs' facility in Mesa that will open in time for Spring Training 2014.
With that said, you can easily tell the difference between CBR and the other, older facilities in the Cactus league. The score board looks brilliant, the grass/fields are well maintained, the concessions are plenty and the parking is free. Yes, the tickets are a little more expensive compared to the other teams in the Cactus league but for obvious reasons. The park is one of the newer ones, the fan base is a mere 5-6 hours away, and the team is under some unwarranted hype.
We sat 4 rows behind home plate and paid only $35 a ticket, compared to the other park we visited Peoria Sports Complex which is 20 years older and charged a modest $28 dollars for field level seats (they also charged $5 for parking).
This was my first time making the trip to CBR and I had a blast. For a mere $35 dollars I saw Kemp/Gonzalez no more than 10 feet away from me, I saw Tommy Lasorda in the Dodgers' dugout and watched the GM New Colletti throw a foul ball back to the crowd from his press box.
I won't be a complete homer and say the park is perfect because there is nothing perfect in the world. I wished that each of the concessions stands would have their entire selection of beer on tap because at CBR the beer selection is scattered across the entire park. Also, the gift shops leave a lot to be desired. The prices are the same at Dodgers' Stadium but the selection is terrible. Both gift shops had very little to offer in terms of fan gear as well as souvenirs of the park. I was ready to splurge at the team store but left with nothing.
Yes, the park is a little further away than the other teams. But that is not necessarily a bad thing because it means you will not have to contend with traffic nor parking issues. We went 30 minutes before the game and basically parked in front of the gate. It's in the Glendale suburb of Phoenix a little past where the Arizona Cardinals play.
I think even if you are a fan of another club, it is worth a trip to check out CBR. You will not regret it.
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