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| - If you are a Chicago Cubs fan, I am sure you have been here. If you haven't been lately, you are missing out. While the Cubs have been training in Mesa since the 50's, Hohokam, in its current incarnation, is only about 10 years old. It is well designed and have a much better layout than the previous version.
Getting to Hohokam used to be a chore but with the 202 stopping a couple miles from the gates, traffic is a breeze. The best thing to do is to get off on McKellips, go down to Center, and pray for free parking. Keep a watchful eye out because many of the neighborhoods have permit parking signs that will make your car disappear if you leave it there. The alternative is to park in the area south of Brown along Pasadena. Despite claims from the City of Mesa, there is no easy way to get to the ballpark from the lightrail. The Buzz (free Mesa shuttle) doesn't come close to the lightrail stop so you are stuck driving or playing the bus transfer game.
Once you make it to Hohokam, one of the nicest parts is the grass parking that invited tailgating. This is a Cub tradition that has spanned my entire life. When you get inside, you will find another enclosed concourse just like Scottsdale. This can be aggravating but is reminiscent of Wrigley Field. The area outside the bases is more open and features the independent food vendors. Most of which, are pretty good, but nothing special. Look for the Island Noodles guy.
The grass seating is pretty good but is usually pretty crowded. Pale Chicagoans shed as much clothing as possible in this area and it tends to make for some interesting sights. There are beautiful bodies and then there are guys who you would think came right out of the 'Da Bears' SNL skit. The most annoying part of the grass, by far, is Ronny Woo-Woo and his constant chanting.
The regular seats are nothing special. Some areas are tighter than others and there doesn't seem to be a correlation between price of seat and amount of seat like many parks. Expect to pay a lot for tickets, especially if you are buying them off the streets.
The Cubs main practice facility is about a mile south of Hohokam but they do take BP on the field directly north of the stadium. If you enter the stadium through the Center Field gates, you can usually catch a few players through the fence. It is really a bad stadium for autographs. The players do not seem to want to sign and the stadium makes it easy for them to avoid you. Players will come down the first base line to get to the dugout and that makes for the best place to catch them.
It is hard to not like Hohokam, especially if you are a Cubs fan. It feels a lot like Wrigley West. It is surrounded by a neighborhood and mixes beer (Old Style, at that), beautiful bodies, and baseball about as well as anywhere this side of Waveland Ave. If you aren't a Cubs fan, you probably won't find this place to be all that great but it is somewhere that any baseball fan should check out, at least once.
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