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Spring training travel tips


ron883
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Sup y'all. I'm doing spring training this year and I'm looking for some tips from knowledgeable folks.

 

We are doing an Airbnb likely. Just seems like it makes sense. Is renting a car worth it, or is Uber reliable enough that we can do that to and from the stadiums?

 

We're also looking to stay in an area with a decent/vibrant nightlife. We're all guys in our mid to late 20s. Tempe is an option, but I feel we may be too old for that area. 

 

Any other tips are appreciated. Thanks!

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1 hour ago, Hot FiRe said:

Sup y'all. I'm doing spring training this year and I'm looking for some tips from knowledgeable folks.

 

We are doing an Airbnb likely. Just seems like it makes sense. Is renting a car worth it, or is Uber reliable enough that we can do that to and from the stadiums?

 

We're also looking to stay in an area with a decent/vibrant nightlife. We're all guys in our mid to late 20s. Tempe is an option, but I feel we may be too old for that area. 

 

Any other tips are appreciated. Thanks!

My whole family lives there and I know some stuff lol

Always rent a car. Everything is within a drive down there but during that time it is crowded as hell. As far as nightlife, definitely hit up Westgate in Glendale. It's literally 5 min from the Sox ST. It is fun as hell. Also, if you wanted to get away for some fun, Scottsdale has good nightlife. Tempe is amazing for...the ladies haha

Edited by Ross Gload Fan
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I'd say renting a car is a must, had it last year and was totally worth it if you plan on going to multiple stadiums or going anywhere further than 10 mins away from where you're staying.  If your into craft beers and good food, my gf and I hit up these places called Mother Bunch (closer to Tempe I believe) and OHSO (whatever was closer to Camelback Mountain) and we both enjoyed them. 

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I'll echo Mother Bunch, good brewery.

Tempe is a must for night life. You can take the light rail right to Mill Ave. It can get fratty, but its easily avoidable. There's every kind of bar you can imagine. Clubs, taco/margarita bar, irish pub, dueling pianos, a place to grab pasties, and more. 

For food, if you can make it to a Chompies, I would suggest it. Theres a lot of ither good food but I'm really only familiar with the Gilbert and Chandler area. 

I have family so transportation is never an issue, but Id rent a car if I didnt. Stadiums are spread out pretty good and if youre trying to go to just Sox games you will be driving all over the place. Camelback is awesome, try to get there early especially if its against the Dodgers or Cubs because it will take awhile to get off the highway and get parked. 

If youre airbnb is close to the light rail it may be convenient for drunken escapades and easy transportation home. 

If i think of anything else I'll be sure to add it. 

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1 hour ago, Heads22 said:

Get to Camelback mid-morning when it opens; roaming around and checking out the back fields is more interesting than the games.

Agreed here, I was lucky to catch the end of some Eloy BP last year on the backfields and it was glorious...also the B games or whatever they're holding are pretty cool, saw lots of prospects at once and you can get real close and chill out for a while. 

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4 hours ago, Sleepy Harold said:

I'd say renting a car is a must, had it last year and was totally worth it if you plan on going to multiple stadiums or going anywhere further than 10 mins away from where you're staying.  If your into craft beers and good food, my gf and I hit up these places called Mother Bunch (closer to Tempe I believe) and OHSO (whatever was closer to Camelback Mountain) and we both enjoyed them. 

Is it viable to rely on Uber? We'll have a decent sized group so splitting it shouldn't be bad. Trying to debate the car situation since everybody will be drinking most likely

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3 hours ago, South Sider said:

I'll echo Mother Bunch, good brewery.

Tempe is a must for night life. You can take the light rail right to Mill Ave. It can get fratty, but its easily avoidable. There's every kind of bar you can imagine. Clubs, taco/margarita bar, irish pub, dueling pianos, a place to grab pasties, and more. 

For food, if you can make it to a Chompies, I would suggest it. Theres a lot of ither good food but I'm really only familiar with the Gilbert and Chandler area. 

I have family so transportation is never an issue, but Id rent a car if I didnt. Stadiums are spread out pretty good and if youre trying to go to just Sox games you will be driving all over the place. Camelback is awesome, try to get there early especially if its against the Dodgers or Cubs because it will take awhile to get off the highway and get parked. 

If youre airbnb is close to the light rail it may be convenient for drunken escapades and easy transportation home. 

If i think of anything else I'll be sure to add it. 

Thank you for the tips! The light rail thing is good to know. Leaning towards Tempe for the night life. 

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If you are staying in Tempe, you'll be within a 20-25 minute drive of the As, Cubs, Rockies/Diamondbacks, Angels, and Giants home stadiums. Tempe and Scottsdale nightlife will be good for a young group.

The Sox and most of the others are 45 minutes plus from Tempe. I suppose you could uber out to these sites, and I'll echo the Westgate nightlife being pretty good. It's a bunch of bars/restaurants located right near the Cards/Coyotes home stadiums. Not sure what it's like during Spring Training, but it's a good time for the hockey and football games.

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Some good advice.  I'm a triple vet spring training now so I feel I can offer some advice:

1) stay in Tempe.   Being able to walk to shit at night and have good food and night life was so much fun last time I went.  We had an airbnb about 1 mile from the main strip and we had bikes that we just rode (we are 30 something single folks) to Mill every night after we got back from the games.  Tempe is a neat town.  Explore it, mingle.  Climb that hill they got by the FB field and admire the scenery of uh, all types.  There's a good mixed crowd in Tempe it's not all just kids, plenty of young urban people in their 30s and 40s as well.

2) Get a rental car. Seriously.  Driving in the Valley of the Sun is fun.  If you like driving, you'll enjoy it.  Flat, straight fucking roads and you don't want to rely on Uber.  The one time we used Uber it sucked and we ended up wasting 30 minutes of quality drinking pre-game.

3) Hit up a bunch of different parks. This ties in to having the rental car.  Last time we went, in 2017, we went to Talking Stick (wow!), Camelback and Peoria Sports Complex.  If you have kids, (or not) Talking Stick is awesome.  We enjoyed the great amenities (booze...) but they have some family oriented stuff (like free instruction) that is awesome.

4) Go early.  You'll see more stars, the sun isn't as oppressive, and the vibe is better.  1st or 2nd week of march is ideal.

Spring training in AZ is awesome man.  It's such a great time.  Especially if you're coming from a long ass winter up north.  The weather is pretty much perfect, mid 70s early march and sunny during the day, maybe at worst mid 50s at night but almost all the bars have little propane heaters and mid 50s at night after winter in the north is nothing.

Get your airbnb as soon as you can.  Spring training is getting even more popular down there.  A great restaurant for breakfast is "N Counter" in Tempe.  We'd hit up that spot, then usually (depending on hangover) relax for a bit or do a in city hike (we did Camelback, it's a cool little hike, can be a bit hard if you're not in shape but it's not that long so don't worry if you're not just keep pushing on) and it has a great view of the area at the top.  If you can make the top in under 30 minutes congrats you're in shape.  Also recoomend "Pedal Haus" for micro-brews and for a fancy dinner out among the local bougie crowd I'd recommend "Sumo Maya" in Scottsdale.  There is so much great food in this area and coming from Chicago or most other urban cities everything is CHEAP.

Enjoy the trip whoever goes, you'll have a great time.  As far as tickets: just get lawn.  The ushers don't GAF, especially at camelback in my experience.  YOu can move right behind home plate usually by the time the 2nd or 3rd inning rolls around.

Edited by chitownsportsfan
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That's a good point about tickets. The Cubs are the only team that sells out regularly. So, tickets are easy to get.

I recommend getting them on the secondary market. I picked up three Sox tickets for $12 total ($4/ea) using Seatgeek last year for a game at Camelback Ranch. I can't remember who they played.

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7 hours ago, Middle Buffalo said:

That's a good point about tickets. The Cubs are the only team that sells out regularly. So, tickets are easy to get.

I recommend getting them on the secondary market. I picked up three Sox tickets for $12 total ($4/ea) using Seatgeek last year for a game at Camelback Ranch. I can't remember who they played.

Yea Cubs tickets were like 50 bucks!  Every other game we went to was just $10.  At Peoria they had this cool deal where for $25 you get 20 little raffle tickets that could be used for concessions, including at their bourbon station.  You could get a pour of Woodford for 5 tickets.  That was nice.

one strange thing, at least coming from Washington state, is that weed is kinda still frowned on down there and you won't find many people smoking in public if at all.  If you want to get high down there I'd suggest trying to bring some edibles or a pen.

Edited by chitownsportsfan
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8 hours ago, Middle Buffalo said:

That's a good point about tickets. The Cubs are the only team that sells out regularly. So, tickets are easy to get.

I recommend getting them on the secondary market. I picked up three Sox tickets for $12 total ($4/ea) using Seatgeek last year for a game at Camelback Ranch. I can't remember who they played.

yeah...my Dad is FINALLY coming out here for ST this March.   Said we'd avoid any game with the Cubs...and usually avoid a weekend game if it involves Cubs or LA Dodgers, Dbags. It's just a zoo.  You get great quality without a mob scene during the week at Camelback Ranch (sans Dodger/Cubs).  The renting a car is the best advice tho. 

Not sure how old you are...for a younger crowd...sure Tempe is nice and all (maybe catch an ASU game too).  But for the older folk I'd stay on the west side of town (and void Brewers ST in Maryvale like the plague).  Still can't believe they built that in that shithole location.   You can still hit Goodyear,  Peoria, Camelback and Surprise.  My piece of advice if you going to Surprise Stadium...DO NOT use Bell Road if can at all avoid it.  What a cluster fuck it is.  Basically the main road to get into Surprise.  Best bet is take Olive Ave west and take Litchfield Road north til you get to Greenway.  Stadium is a mile west of Litchfield on Greenway and Bullard. Understand it's a little out of the way if you're coming from Scottsdale on the 101.  But if you're coming from the I-10 south of there you'll thank me later.

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1 hour ago, Heads22 said:

Also, ask the locals where to get good Mexican food.

very subjective.  What one likes...another thinks sucks.

Up in the NW Arrowhead area around Peoria Sports complex I highly recommend Abuelo's and Arriba.

If you feel like making the trek to central phoenix....you really should give Barrio Cafe a try.  Not traditional...but really really cool and good. Don't let the outside scare ya. (16th Street/Thomas)

I know a few hole in the wall places that are great too:

Tee Pee on the eastside (Indian School/40th Street) GREAT Food!

Don Lencho's  (Peoria Ave/83rd Ave area)

Don Ruben's (43rd Ave/Cactus)  Long waits.

These are my old faithfuls.  Depends where you're at in the valley. I'm not that familiar with the eastside eateries...

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