Photos by Meg Minard, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.00
Surprise Stadium 15930 N Bullard Ave Surprise, AZ 85374
Year Opened: 2003
Capacity: 10,714
Sah-WAR-ohs
Built in 2002, Surprise Stadium is the spring training home for MLB’s Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. The stadium is part of the Surprise Recreation Campus in Surprise, AZ, which is in the farthest northwest corner of the Phoenix Metropolitan area. The stadium has a capacity of 10,714 and is the most distant stadium from central Phoenix and the airport. In the fall, the baseball stadium is home to the Arizona Fall League (AFL) Surprise Saguaros (pronounced Sah-WAR-ohs).
The Arizona Fall League is a developmental instructional baseball league played in various spring training complexes in the Greater Phoenix area. The season lasts a little over a month, during October and November. Each Major League baseball team sends seven top prospects to the league to continue their development and for additional practice.
For the 2024 season, the Astros, Royals, Orioles, Guardians, and Rangers sent players from their minor league teams to join the Saguaros. These affiliations change over the years. The Surprise Saguaros have won three AFL Championships, most recently in 2023.
Food & Beverage 2
One concession stand on the concourse behind home plate is open for Saguaros games, and that’s enough. The selection during the 2024 season includes bratwurst sausages ($6.25), monster hot dogs ($6.25), and nachos ($5.75). There’s usually an additional Manager’s Special, like chicken tenders. Snacks include Bavarian pretzels, popcorn, peanuts, and Snickers ice cream pops ($2.75 - $5.50).
Drinks range from $3.25 - $5.50 and include water, sweet tea, and fountain soda (Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper brands). The concession stand sells a variety of domestic and craft canned beer ($7.75 - $10.25). A Desert Cactus Margarita (with two shots of tequila) costs $14.25.
It’s enough to satisfy a hungry Saguaro fan.
Fans can bring in their own bottles of water and snacks.
Atmosphere 4
Surprise Stadium offers a low-key, pleasantly delightful afternoon or evening of baseball.
A 360-degree concourse surrounds the field, good for getting your steps in without missing the action on the diamond. Standard green fold-down stadium seats with cupholders stretch from foul pole to foul pole, though the sections beyond the dugouts are tarped off for the Fall League. Fans walk down to their seats from the concourse. The second level is closed to fans for Fall League games. Handicapped seating lines the rim of the seating area on the concourse. Fans can sit wherever they prefer, which is standard for all Fall League games. We recommend bringing a rag or towel; you may need to wipe bird droppings off a seat.
The infield concourse is sheltered in the event of inclement weather.
A medium-thick net extends across all seating. Sit in the seats above the bullpens for an inning or two to experience a unique and different viewpoint of the game.
The music volume is fine, a little loud but tolerable under the speakers. The person responsible for playing the music does a good job and only plays it pregame and between innings, as it should be. Sit in section 113 to be out from under the speakers (though this section is in the sun during afternoon games).
The field is remarkably green and plush, unusual for the hot and dry conditions in Arizona, especially this past 2024 summer.
The scoreboard sits in the left field berm and provides some advertisements, the line score, and the batter’s name and photo (if they have it).
The Saguaros staff set up a merchandise table on the concourse behind home plate. It offers merchandise for not only the Saguaros but other Fall League teams as well. Fans can pick up team rosters and starting lineups at this table.
Surprise Stadium Merchandise Table, Photo by Meg Minard, Stadium Journey
Neighborhood 3
Surprise, AZ is known for having many active adult communities and residences. Many northerners migrate south for the winter or relocate permanently to the area for its warm weather. Surprise does not have a ‘downtown’ area and is more piecemeal with communities and strip malls. Construction crews are building more and more structures as the city grows in popularity.
Across the street from the stadium are the city-owned and operated tennis and racquet courts, the Surprise Community Park (walking trails, fishing pond, and picnic area), an aquatic center, and the library.
For places to stay near the ballpark, a Residence Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and a Hilton Garden Inn are all about ½ mile from the stadium.
Places to eat and drink before or after the game require a vehicle. Many chains and fast food places are along Bell Rd. For non-chain suggestions, try Bonfire Craft Kitchen and Tap House, Saigon Kitchen (Vietnamese), or Irish Wolfhound Pub. State 48 Brewery has a brewpub a little over two miles from the stadium.
If outdoor activities interest you, at least eight golf courses dot the Surprise landscape, or take a hike at the White Tank Mountain Regional Park (17 miles from the ballpark).
The closest Fall League venue is Peoria Sports Complex, home of the Peoria Javelinas, 10 miles east. Camelback Ranch, where the AFL Glendale Desert Dogs play, is about a 30-minute drive.
Fans 3
Fans who attend Fall League games tend to be scouts, autograph hunters, or those who enjoy the game itself and not all the extras that occur in minor and major league parks throughout North America. Fans applaud all good plays regardless of team.
The Saguaros draw about 300 – 500 fans per game. Weekend games have a higher attendance. The fan base tends to increase as the season progresses.
Access 2
Surprise Stadium is 40 miles from Sky Harbor Airport. No public transportation is available from the airport, nor does Surprise have local bus service options. Driving is the only option.
One entrance is open for Fall League games, behind center field. The closest spot to park is the West Fastball Dr parking lot. Parking is free for Fall League games. It’s one of the rare baseball venues where the ticket booth is outside center field, behind the batter’s eye. The third baseline gates open for exiting after the game, making the walking distance shorter. The Saguaros provide golf cart-like transportation from the entrance to the seating area (and back) for those who need it.
Clear stadium bags are allowed, though the signs indicating such are not easy to read and do not make fans feel welcome.
The 360-degree concourse is comfortably wide. Clean and serviceable restrooms are open on the inner concourse.
The 360-degree concourse is comfortably wide. Clean and serviceable restrooms are open on the inner concourse.
Return on Investment 4
As with everything else, prices have increased. Single game tickets are $13 (seniors 55+ and teens 11 – 17 are $11). Kids 10 and under get in free. If you live in the area or plan on attending 12 or more games, a season pass is a less expensive way to go. A single admission season pass is $155; a double admission pass is $185 (less if you are 55+).
Parking is free, as it is at all Fall League parks.
Attending a baseball game on a warm fall day or evening for the game is worth the price and Surprise Stadium does a good job at keeping it baseball.
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Extras 3
The stadium features a Hall of Fame, highlighting plaques honoring both Royals and Rangers players, managers, and local community role models.
Paper copies of the starting lineup and rosters are available upon entry or at the souvenir table, a good thing for fans who keep score.
The shrubbery in the batter’s eye this 2024 season makes me chuckle as the saguaro looks like it’s giving the fan base the finger (gotta love Mother Nature).
Surprise Stadium Batter's Eye, Photo by Meg Minard, Stadium Journey
Depending on which game you attend, you may see members of the nearby Luke Air Force base present the colors, sing the national anthem, and throw out the first pitch.
When the game day announcer recognizes armed force members and veterans in the stands during the game, a good portion of the Saguaros players applaud and wave their hats in appreciation of their service.
Final Thoughts
Surprise Stadium is an attractive stadium and all staff members are quite pleasant. Fans attending Sah-WAR-ohs games here enjoy their time.
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