Let me start by saying that you should only come to this ballpark if your a true Cubs fan. Now I know yor saying "Well duh I would go if I am a cub fan who wouldn't go to there favorite teams stadium" well here in the Valley you should visit all the spring training facilities rather your a fan of the home team or not. However coming out here may not be worth your time or MONEY if your not a true Cubs fan. I really wanted to give this locale a 4 star rating.... But the parking here is terrible. If you really want to see a game here get here EARLY.... I mean it. Parking is 10 bucks if you want to park close to the park..... 5 bucks if you want to park much father away. Honestly it is only about a 5 to 7 minute walk depending on where you parked.
The city of Mesa and the Cubs franchise have went out of there way to make this park feel like Wrigley field in Chicago. They have everything from the famed bricked wall behind home plate to the replica Wrigley Field sign which you can take your picture in front of with your name and everything. There are people actually out on the side of the road scalping tickets for a SPRING TRAINING game.....I mean c'mon man....LOL. The have the taste of Chicago..... Chicago dogs.... Gyros..... Beef and Sausage Combo sandwiches and of course deep dish pizza from Giordanos.
The prices for beer were normal..... Some locations even had them for 6 bucks. You can also buy wine and mixed drinks here.....which is unusual for a spring training facility. There were 6 former players here on the day I visited signing autographs.... 2 of them were Hall of famers. Lee Smith.... Rollie Fingers.... Fergie Jenkins...... Just to name a few..... Had items you could purchase to have autographed.
The park is beautiful.... But the seats have no leg room to speak of really. So if you want to be comfortable sit on the lawn..... Which is massive here..... or the 1876 section. Be advised the center field 1876 section is in the sun.....along with the lawn sections of course..... Left and right field corners..... And down the first base and third base lines about 10 rows deep. There is shade pretty much every where else....and the later it gets most everyone will be in the shade except those on the lawn again.... Lol. I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE AND IT BEARS REPEATING....IF YOUR HANDICAPPED IN ANYWAY......AND THAT JUST DOESN'T MEAN BEING WHEELCHAIR BOUND ETC.....PLEASE PARK CLOSE AS YOU CAN. THIS IS ANOTHER LOCATION THAT DOESN'T STIPULATE THAT FOR SENIOR CITIZENS SAKE......HOW FAR A WALK IT IS FROM THE PARKING LOT TO THE STADIUM. THERE ARE PEDICABS FOR 5 BUCKS A RIDE BUT NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO PAY THAT AFTER YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR GENERAL PARKING. Also for those of you who are feeling real good so to speak....there is free parking at the strip mall right across from the stadium but that is definitely a 10 to 12 minute walk depending on how good your feeling.
The park seats just over 14000.... But it can seat just over 15000 due to all the standing room here. Speaking of that on 3/7/15 when I attended there was a new attendance record of well over 15230 people there.....so that was pretty cool. Ironically the one feature that is not like Wrigley Field are the concourses.... Lol.... The ones here seem more roomier. I applaud the city of Mesa and the Chicago Cubs on building such a good stadium. Hopefully the parking will improve and the sound will be better because you can't here anything clearly throughout the park. Eat drink and be Merry my Friends!!!!!