Spring Training 2009 Travel Thread

[Patrick425]

I wonder what "wbc at Brewers" is on March 5th? I'm assuming that stands for World Baseball Classic...but I was unware of any games or activities at Maryvale?

[Brew City Baseball Fan]

Im guessing it will be an exhibition with one of the teams. There are also another bunch of games played at other venues on the 4th. Should be a fun time to be in the Phoenix area.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

The JS released the schedule yesterday.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/35323019.html

[azcheesehead]

If you get a chance to catch the Crew in Goodyear at the new Cleveland complex, I would suggest doing so. This new stadium is going to be sick. I also wish the Brewers were at the Dodgers/White Sox new complex in Glendale more than once. It is supposed to be the Taj Mahal of spring training facilities.

[phxMILWfan]

I'm probably in the minority here but I prefer Maryvale over any other complex. It's simple and scaled back from what all the other teams have. It's easier to park and get into the stadium. It's nice to see big league talent in less than a big league park. Plus it doesn't hurt that it is one of the least expensive options. For the last 8 years I've been buying 6 or 7 dollar lawn seats and moving near homeplate. Can't do that at ANY other complex.

[Brew City Baseball Fan]

Just got my airfare tickets yesterday and am ready to hit phoenix from Feb 27th til March 7th. For anyone looking for airfare, Airtran has a nonstop flight for $250 around the above dates. If you sign up for their email list you can also get 25 off your next flight. Not too bad of a deal for flights to phoenix

[lodiness]

Where do most of you that go down there stay. We were told Old Town Scottsdale is the place to be.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

We stayed downtown last year and it was completely dead. This year we're going to stay in Tempe.

[badgerbomb]

I'm stoked, just booked for February 24th-March 1st. If your interested, I would recommend booking soon as I noticed prices are rising fast.

[phxMILWfan]

If you're looking for night life old-town scottsdale is ideal. Don't drink and drive out here unless you want to spend 40 days in the tents... Depending on what you want to do there are different places to stay. Downtown phoenix doesn't have much to offer. Maryvale is a borderline project. I'd recommend Peoria near the Mariners and Padres facility or Scottsdale. Tempe near Mill Ave is a great area to go out at night too. Also good for shopping during the day. Don't be concerned about having to drive 30 to 45 minutes to the things you want to do, everything is a long drive out here.

[BrewCrewForever]

Man I'm so pumped for 2/25. First game of the spring, so exciting.

[jason21nl]

has anyone drove down there before? If so how much does it suck and about how long does it take? Anything cool to do along the way? A friend and I are trying to decide if we want to fly or drive...any info would be awesome

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Driving would be a hell of a trip. I would imagine at least 25 hours worth of highway time from Milwaukee. It's so nice to fly, but if you want to make a trip out of it, going over to Vegas for a few days and checking out the Grand Canyon would be what I would do.

[phxMILWfan]

28 hours, could maybe shave an hour off of it... I was really moving though. It sucks, I 40 from Texas to Arizona is beyond boring. Nothing to look at to keep your attention. I won't be making that drive again.

[And That]

Not only have I driven it from Milwaukee-Phoenix, I have driven it from St.Paul-Milwaukee (for Kopps and say hi to Brian)-Phoenix. And I've driven back and forth from St. Paul-Phoenix two other times. It's not that bad. It's not the most exciting drive in the world, but if you do it I would at least recommend taking different routes there and back. Like, say drive through Texas there and up the Rockies in to Denver (I-25 north from Albuquerque to Denver is awesome). If you're dedicated, you can do it in 24-25 hours.

[phxMILWfan]

Radar detector and leaving Milwaukee at a time that allows you to avoid Chicago and St. Louis at rush hour, you might be able to do it in 25 hours. I forgot that when I made the drive we hit a down pour in Missouri and it delayed us quite a bit. Couldn't really see where we were going on the highway.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Like, say drive through Texas there and up the Rockies in to Denver (I-25 north from Albuquerque to Denver is awesome). If you're dedicated, you can do it in 24-25 hours.

I would be sure to check the weather before going through the Rockies though. You can run into mulitple feet of snow at times even in March on some of those roads.

[Patrick425]

Radar detector and leaving Milwaukee at a time that allows you to avoid Chicago and St. Louis at rush hour, you might be able to do it in 25 hours. I forgot that when I made the drive we hit a down pour in Missouri and it delayed us quite a bit. Couldn't really see where we were going on the highway.

I never drove from Milwaukee to Phonix. However, why would you ever take a route that goes through Chicago? Seems kind of out of they way. I'm thinking you would start off taking 43 towards Beloit.

[phxMILWfan]

It's been 7 years. I was 18 and my uncle decided the route. My point is to plan what time you want to be hitting large cities. His focus was avoiding St. Louis at rush hour. I threw Chicago in there because I thought it might be helpful.

[jason21nl]

Well my friend and I made up our minds..Neither one of us has been in any of the states along the way and we both like taking pictures of just about anything so we are going to making the drive down there. We are going to leave very early on the 9th and drive out to Denver and stay there for the night. The next day we are going to be stopping at the Grand Canyon for a few hours before heading on down to the Phoenix area. Probably staying in Tempe. We'll be seeing games on the 11th at the White Sox, 12th, 13th, 14th at home vs Padres, Royals and Dodgers, then on the 15th we are going to watch them play the Indians in Goodyear followed by another home game and the final game of the trip on the 16th against the Cubs. After planning it out a little, I'm totally geeked out and can't wait!

[Blancofan1]

We just booked our trip for March 10-17th and I already can't wait. From the lineup of games to be played, to the idea of seeing the young prospects--I'm just stoked all around. Never been down there for any reason before, and looking forward to the warm weather as well.

Question for you collectors out there--Is there any place with good deals on getting ROMLB's? I've found a dozen with display cubes on a few websites for $160. Is that a good price, or is there a local place I might be able to pick up some cheaper?

[Brew City Baseball Fan]

Blancofan, you will not be dissapointed. Spring training is the BEST!!!! As far as omlb's, some guys helped me out over in the trading post, the place to order from is anderson enterprises in michigan. Have fun buddy

[Patrick425]

Blancofan1[/b]]We just booked our trip for March 10-17th and I already can't wait. From the lineup of games to be played, to the idea of seeing the young prospects--I'm just stoked all around. Never been down there for any reason before, and looking forward to the warm weather as well.

Question for you collectors out there--Is there any place with good deals on getting ROMLB's? I've found a dozen with display cubes on a few websites for $160. Is that a good price, or is there a local place I might be able to pick up some cheaper?

I concur with Brew City, you will have a blast. My family takes one vacation every year and this is it. This will be the 6th or 7th year in a row we have gone (I lost track). However, as I believe was stated earlier in this thread, I think the WBC runs from the 5th through the 23rd. So, some of the bigger "stars" (i.e. Braun), will probably not be there when you are there. We are going Feb 26th - March 4th (mostly because my son has off of school Feb 26th and 27th.). We originally booked the trip from March 5th through the 11th, but were able to change it at almost no cost because the cost of airfare had dropped so much since our original booking.

[Brew City Baseball Fan]

less than one month til arrival in Maryvale

[fondybrewfan]

So why hasn't anyone started the annual Countdown in Pictures thread? Or is that for Opening Day?