Chase Field

On November 16, 1995 ground was broken for the $354 million baseball palace that was to become Bank One Ballpark. How appropriate that Jerry Colangelo would hold a silver shovel with a handle shaped like a baseball bat to bring life back to a deteriorated section of downtown Phoenix.

Over the course of the next 28 months, the landscape of the Phoenix skyline would change forever. Towering over the other buildings in Phoenix, Bank One Ballpark is at once nostalgic resembling a long lost era in Major League Baseball's past while displaying its technological and engineering accomplishments.

The stadium was renamed Chase Field on September 23, 2005 season as a result of Bank One being purchased by Chase.

Lost in there are some little known facts about the ballpark that will both educate and amaze you.

The playing field is actually 25 feet below street level. If all the trucks hauling dirt away were parked end to end, the line would reach from Bank One Ballpark to Flagstaff and then extend another 50 miles along Interstate 40.
The east and west trusses that hold up the roof each contain 2.4 million pounds of steel and were lifted 175 feet straight up. This lift was accomplished using 4 hydraulic jacks each with a lifting capacity of 400 tons.
The retractible roof is comprised of 9 million pounds of structural steel and uses the same technology found in drawbridges and overhead traveling cranes.
A pair of 200-horsepower motors open or close the roof in slightly more than four minutes, utilizing more than four miles of cable strung through a pulley system.

Each half of the roof consists of three moveable trusses which telescope over a fixed end truss. The east and west sides of the roof can operate either in unison or independently. Either side of the roof can be opened to any position in order to maximize sunlight on the turf and minimize it on the interior steel and concrete.
When the roof is fully retracted the opening is almost 5.5 acres.
There was enough concrete used in the construction of Bank One Ballpark to create a sidewalk 4 feet wide and 4 inches thick that would stretch from Phoenix to San Diego California.

The restroom facilities at Bank One Ballpark include 340 toilets located in the womens restrooms. There are 55 toilets accompanied by 218 urinals designated for use in the mens restrooms.
When sod was laid at Bank One Ballpark, it took an entire crew 3 days to install the 110,000 square feet of grass. That is enough grass to cover nearly 3 acres.
8,000 tons of air conditioning are used to cool Bank One Ballpark. The system is designed to bring the temperature down by 30 degrees in three hours. It's enough air conditioning to cool more than 2,500 houses that are 1,600 square feet each.
The air handlers push 1.2 million cubic feet of air per minute across cooling coils containing water chilled to 48 degrees (several degrees cooler than an average residential system).
The cost for building Bank One Ballpark has been estimated at $349 Million. Of that money, $238 Million came from public funds through a quarter-cent sales tax. The remainder of the cost of the facility was paid by the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball club.
The solar pavilion in front of the ballpark will generate 75 kilowatts of solar power, enough electricity to power 8-10 homes.

Back One Page

In order to make Chase Field the first baseball facility to combine enclosed air-conditioned comfort with the traditional playability of natural turf, it was necessary to develop a new strain of grass. The job fell to Steve Cockerham, one of the leading turf agronomists in the nation and head of the Department of Agricultural Operations at the University of California at Riverside.

Like any downtown sports facility, Chase Field utilizes the established parking infrastructure for its guests. An attached 1,500-car parking garage provides parking for guests on the Infiniti Diamond Level.

Away from the park, downtown Phoenix boasts some 33,000 parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of Chase Field. The Diamondbacks estimate that about 15,000 spaces are necessary to accommodate a sellout crowd.

For additional information regarding parking downtown and detailed parking maps of the area, the Diamondbacks web site is a good resource.

For those of you who would rather not drive to the game, the Phoenix public transportation offer bus service that will deliver you to the ballpark.

Chase Field also has a light rail stop for use by the fans. The light rail will continue to run for 45 minutes after the final out to allow all fans to catch the train regardless of how long the game lasts.

Back One Page

Located in the revitalized downtown Phoenix area, Chase Field is one block east of US Airways Center, home of the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team, the Phoenix Mercury WNBA basketball team, and the previous home to the Phoenix Roadrunners hockey team.

The ballpark is bounded by Jefferson Street on the north, Fourth Street on the west and Seventh Street on the east. Easiest freeway access is by taking the Seventh Street exit from either I-10 (turn south) or I-17 (turn north).

The ballpark is strategically located to several downtown venues such as the Phoenix Civic Plaza, Symphony Hall, Arizona Science Center and the Arizona Center.

This centralized location provides opportunities for fans and spectators to enjoy a variety of activities before and after each home game.

To accommodate the expected pedestrian flow pattern, the Ballpark is located as far south and east on the site as is practical to allow plenty of area to the north and west.

With an approximate elevation of 1,100 feet, Chase Field is the second highest facility in Major League Baseball, trailing only Coors Field in Denver. Scientists have estimated a fly ball will travel about 7 feet further for every 1,000 feet of altitude making Chase Field more of a hitter's park.

Links to detailed maps of the Phoenix freeway system, suggested inbound traffic routes, and suggested outbound traffic routes have been provided to help you plan your trip to Chase Field.

As a general rule, traffic is lighter using Interstate 17 and exiting on either the Seventh Avenue or Seventh Street exits.

As always, it is recommended you listen to local radio traffic bulletins to help guide your travel plans.

Legends Entertainment District

Established in 2010 as a joint venture between Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks and the National Basketball Association's Phoenix Suns, the Legends Entertainment District is designed to create an energetic backdrop for people to enjoy their downtown Phoenix experience.

The Legends Entertainment District offers:

A comprehensive blend of large impressions and divers demographics featuring event traffic, pedestrians, mass transit, business commuters, and tourism.
A larger-than-life creative platform that is on average five times the size of a standard 10x30 non-highway billboard. The impact is spectacular because of close proximity to the consumer.
A unique marketing blend of digital signage and large super graphic static marketing opportunities including the largest signage available anywhere in the Phoenix Metropolitan area.
High visibility opportunities that encompass landmark facilities such as The US Airways Center, Chase Field, and The Phoenix Convention Center extending from 1st Avenue to 7th Street and Washington to Jackson Street.
Partners first to break ground: Anheuser-Busch, APS, Chevrolet, Fox Sports Arizona and Fry’s Food Stores.
Includes more than 6,100 square feet of full-motion LED digital technology throughout the District, provided by Panasonic.
Provides digital informational programming in the form of LED news tickers and other content on the LED technology, which runs 18 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Since the introduction of the Legends Entertainment District, three Arizona Diamondbacks have been honored as "Legends". Arizona Diamondbacks legend and special assistant to the president, Luis Gonzalez was the first Diamondbacks player to be featured in the Legends District in September 2011. A year later in 2012 World Series Co-MVP and Diamondbacks Legend Randy Johnson was featured.

In 2013 the Diamondbacks added a third featured member with the election of World Series Manager Bob Brenly who was chosen in a fan vote that include other nominees: Matt Williams, Steve Finley, and Curt Schilling.

The featured Legends are immortalized with a 42-foot tall Super Graphic along the District. The graphic now hangs on the Phoenix Convention Center Garage located across from Chase Field closes to the intersection of Jefferson and 7th Street.

Back One Page

Fast Facts:
Home Team: Arizona Diamondbacks
Year Opened: 1998
Seating Capacity: 49,075
Field Surface: Natural grass
Ticket Prices: $5 - $240
Girls: Pretty good at pool side
Nachos: Crisp and hot with jalapeno cheese sauce

Chase Field, or "Chase" as it is known to the locals, is one of the retractable roof stadiums that are currently the rage within Major League Baseball. Billed as an entertainment venue rather than a sports complex Chase Field is home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Since its opening on March 31, 1998, Chase Field has been as big a draw as the baseball team. The Diamondbacks are well aware of this as the public address announcer proclaims before each game, "Welcome to Chase Field, the most unique experience in Major League Baseball."