Baseball’s back! The ultimate fan’s guide to spring training.
The new seats are in, the high-tech scoreboard is up, and the green and gold paint is dry. Of course, it’s the Arizona desert, so that last part isn’t much of a surprise. What might come as a surprise to Oakland A’s fans who make the annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Cactus League games is that the team won’t be there.
Not in Phoenix, anyway.
After 30 years of prepping for the regular season at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the A’s are moving their spring training to Hohokam Stadium in neighboring Mesa. (If the name sounds familiar, Hohokam had been the longtime spring home of the Chicago Cubs, who moved 3 miles down the road last year to Sloan Park — still in Mesa, next to the city’s
new Riverview Park.) On the plus side, the stadium is in better shape and has been renovated for Oakland, the parking will be easier, the hotels are less expensive and the neighborhood is pleasant enough. Unfortunately, Hohokam is in the middle of a suburban residential area (with a sprawling cemetery across the street), is more difficult to get to on public transportation, has far fewer lodging options than Phoenix or Scottsdale, and is even farther from the attractions of downtown Phoenix.
Once you gas up the rental car, however, it turns out Mesa and a few of its smaller neighbors have attractions of their own, diversions, and hip restaurants and bars for when the A’s have a day off, as well as for after the last out.
What follows are our recommendations for how Oakland A’s fans can spend down time (or family time while one spouse is at the game) in the team’s new stomping grounds. (Also see Peter Hartlaub’s guide to Cactus League postgame hangouts on the facing page.)
Downtown Mesa
The downtown is about a mile square, although the bulk of where visitors will want to be is within a block of Main Street, between Country Club Drive and Centennial Way. There’s a growing number of quality restaurants and bars to go with the collection of cultural attractions, a number that’s sure to rise when the light-rail line from Phoenix starts running up the middle of Main Street in 2016. Tip: Pay attention to whether Main Street addresses are east or west (they can be easily confused).
1 Arizona Museum of Natural History: 53 N. MacDonald, Mesa; (480) 644-2230; www.azmnh.org. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Arizona’s third-largest city has one of the state’s best museums. The 80,000-squarefoot museum is home to 60,000 objects and artifacts, covering natural history, anthropology and even some territorial history from before Arizona became the 48th state. Most of the information is very accessible to all ages; the big draw, of course, is the collection of dinosaur and mammoth skeletons. Tip: If bringing children, check the exhibits map first and pick your battles. There is probably too much here to do all in one day. Admission: $6-$12.
2 Mesa Historical Museum (Play Ball! The Cactus League Experience): 51 E. Main St., Mesa; (480) 835-7358; www.mesamuseum.org and www.playballexperience.com. The storefront museum itself isn’t huge, but right now nearly all of it is devoted to the region’s Cactus League baseball history. The walls and display cases are filled with ephemera from the early barnstorming teams that came through Mesa up to modern gear signed by entire teams. (There’s a slight leaning toward the Chicago Cubs, but with the A’s moving to town that might evolve.) A thorough inspection takes about an hour. Admission: $3-$5. 3 Margaritas Grille: 10 W. Main St., Mesa; (480) 969-5812; www.mar garitasgrilleonmain.com. There are a few good restaurants on Main Street, although Margaritas offers a solid menu of Mexican and TexMex staples, a better-thanaverage tequila selection and outdoor seating that should still be bearable in March (not so much in July).
4 Sweet Cakes Cafe: 21 W. Main St., Mesa; (480) 461-9529, www.sweetcakescafe.com. “Homegrown” independent bakery on Main Street with all manner of goodies — either for before the game with coffee or as a seventh-inning snack at Hohokam Stadium.
Also in Mesa
5 Beer Research Institute: 1641 S. Stapley Drive, Mesa; (480) 8922020; www.bri.beer. Just opened in November, the Institute focuses on craft brews, offering several styles brewed in-house (including Belgians and several “American Ales”). The menu is mostly burgers and quirky takes on traditional pub grub. Entrees: $9-$14.
6 Mesa Grande Cultural Park: 1000 N. Date St. (corner of Date and 10th streets), Mesa; www.azmnh.org/arch/ mesagrande.aspx. Interpretive trail through an ancient Hohokam mound that’s larger than a football field and is estimated to be from A.D. 1100-1450. Visitors can take the trail October to May, including several excavated sites. The Hohokam lived in the Salt River Valley for about 1,500 years.
7 TQLA Agave Bar & Southwest Kitchen: Dana Park Village Square, 1840 South Val Vista Drive, Mesa; (480) 813-8752; ww.tqla.com. Upscale, casual restaurant that skews heavily Southwest and Mexican, parked in one of this region’s trademark “community lifestyle centers” (translation: outdoor shopping center). It’s a little out of the way for Cactus League fans, but agave fans will find 80
varieties of tequila “on tap.” Dinner entrees: $15-$23.
8 Mesa Riverview Park: 2100 W. Eighth St., Mesa. New $8 million outdoor city park and event venue with playgrounds, water attractions and a palm-lined, man-made lake for fishing. The park butts up against the soon-to-be-completed Sheraton Mesa Hotel (scheduled to open Feb. 26, according to Sheraton), which in turn is next door to the 14,500-seat Cubs Park, probably the largest and most diversion-heavy park in the Cactus League. The hotel will be a premium location for Cubs fan, as well as Oakland A’s fans (3.4 miles from Hohokam).
Downtown Gilbert Heritage District
While much of Gilbert is suburban “malls and sprawl” like most of Phoenix’s surrounding communities, the downtown heritage district is a genuinely likable pocket, in part because it actually was the original downtown when the railroad first came through (as opposed to the charming, manufactured “historic downtown” so in vogue these days). Other attractions are on the way, but the draws right now are the popular, hip bistros and cafes that dominate Gilbert Road. Expect lines and waiting lists for weekend brunch.
9 Zinburger: 344 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert; (480) 387-5000; www.zin burgeraz.com/locations/ gilbert. Warehouse style building with lots of light and an indoor-outdoor bar. The above-average wine list offers plenty of pairings with a whimsical menu of burgers, shakes and fries. Worth a stop just for the salted caramel milk shake and the double-truffle fries. Zinburger is a chain that also has sites in Phoenix and Old Town Scottsdale. Burgers: $9.50$15.50.
10 Postino East Wine Cafe: 302 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert; (480) 6326363; www.postinowinecafe.com. No one is going to mistake downtown Gilbert for Healdsburg, but Postino has similar sensibilities, a strong wine selection, simple Italian small plates, salads and paninis, and a pleasant wraparound patio for spring (before the rotisserie season). Entrees and starters: $9.75-$14.
11 Liberty Market: 230 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert; (480) 892-1900; www. libertymarket.com. Former 1930s grocery that is now part of the crop of “urban bistro” places, with cafeteria-style ordering and an upscale, gourmet menu, including wood-fired pizzas, creative salads, “rustic mac and cheese” and apricot glazed chicken. Separate espresso bar for those not partaking in the decent wine and beer menus. Dinner entrees: $9-$26.
12 Gilbert Farmers Market: 222 N. Ash Drive, Gilbert; www.gilbertmarket.com. On Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon, vendors range from local farmers and ranchers to makers of artisan honey, hummus, hot sauce and salt. Food trucks and craft vendors round out the collection. Tip: The easiest parking for downtown is behind the shops on the south side of Gilbert Road.
Also in Gilbert
13 Arizona Wilderness Brewery: 721 N. Arizona Ave., Gilbert; (480) 2849863, www.azwbeer.com. Outdoorsy-themed brewpub and cafe that opened in 2013 and has since become a magnet for hard-core beer buffs, hordes of hipsters and, surprisingly, families with small children (especially on the weekend). The main selling point — artisanal ales using local ingredients from nearby farms — has already attracted some attention, including a feature in Esquire magazine. The menu is burgers and quirky pub grub. Entrees: $9-$14.