Members of the ASU baseball team catch a ceremonial first pitch at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on April 23. The stadium will be the new home for the Sun Devils starting in 2015. (Photo by Danny Shapiro)ASU and the city of Phoenix announced Tuesday that Phoenix Municipal Stadium will be the new home of Sun Devil baseball starting in the 2015 season at a press conference at the stadium.
Currently the home of MLB’s Oakland Athletics, ASU baseball will take over the stadium, located only two miles away from the Tempe campus, in 2015 on a 25-year lease.
The stadium is located on the southeast corner of Priest Drive and Van Buren Street. It is a short walk from the Priest Drive and Washington Street light rail station.
ASU President Michael Crow, ASU Vice President for University Athletics and Athletic Director Steve Patterson, ASU baseball coach Tim Esmay and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton were among those in attendance to speak about the team’s move from Packard Stadium to Tempe Municipal, the oldest Cactus League ballpark.
"This is a walk-off grand slam for ASU and the City of Phoenix," Stanton said. "I was proud to work with President Crow at the development of this idea and to continue our partnership on economic success in Phoenix and our region. Thank you for partnering with our city, and I look forward to seeing the Devils continue their brand of winning baseball in their new stadium."
Phoenix Municipal Stadium is considerably larger than Packard Stadium. It has a capacity of nearly 8,000 fans compared to Packard’s nearly 3,500.
The new stadium will also include features not present at Packard, such as a full practice field, a weight room, a 70-locker clubhouse and more.
“All of the kinds of facilities that we don’t have in the back of the house are much improved over Packard’s,” Patterson said.
A few current Sun Devil baseball players, sporting their white home jerseys, were in attendance. Patterson said the players are excited for the move, though most of them will not be with the program come 2015.
“Given that a lot of the ballplayers wind up moving on to the pros after their junior year, it’s a little bit of a wait and see, but I think in general everyone is excited about having more and better amenities than they have at Packard,” Patterson said.
This won’t be the first time the Sun Devils call Phoenix Municipal Stadium home, either. The team played there during the 1964-1974 seasons and compiled a 111-26 record during that time.
Originally, ASU was trying to work on a partnership with the Chicago Cubs on a facility in Mesa.
"The relocation of Sun Devil baseball to this excellent facility would not have been possible without the support and dedicated effort of Mayor Greg Stanton as well the dedication of Councilman Sal DiCiccio in whose district the stadium is located,” Crow said. “Phoenix Municipal Stadium will be an outstanding home ballpark for the ASU baseball team.”
Esmay echoed Crow’s sentiments and was excited for the opportunity for his program to compete stadium-wise with the likes of teams from the SEC and elsewhere.
"The new stadium is exciting for players, coaches, alumni and fans alike," Esmay said. "A long list of great players, a winning tradition and a rich history made Arizona State the preeminent program in the nation. Playing in Phoenix Muni will now steer Sun Devil baseball into a new era of distinction."
Sun Devil Stadium relocation site update
Also at the press conference, Crow spoke about the relocation of the ASU football team during Sun Devil Stadium’s renovation, set to take place in the next few years.
“While Sun Devil Stadium is being prepared, we are looking forward to playing our football games at Chase Field,” Crow said. “Just in case you were wondering, that’s the only place for us going forward so it’s really an example of this fantastic relationship we have with the city of Phoenix.”
Chase Field was one of several destinations, including the Arizona Cardinals’ University of Phoenix Stadium, to be considered for the Sun Devil football program’s relocation while Sun Devil Stadium is renovated.
Patterson said no official deal has been reached yet, but talks are moving forward quickly to secure the stadium.
“We are close on trying to get a finance together,” Patterson said. “Dr. Crow and I will be meeting along with the rest of the senior staff here shortly. We hope to put our plan into place and move forward rather quickly.”
Patterson also said an "aggressive timeline" would be used to get into Chase Field for the 2015 season, with a return date to Sun Devil Stadium as early as 2016.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Danny__Shapiro
