The entrance to Cubs Park in Mesa, Ariz., borrowed the iconic signage design from its affiliate, Wrigley Field in Chicago. (Photo by Populous)
The Cactus League is known as a place where the Boys of Summer amp up for the long Major League Baseball season. Until recently, that was the only focus for most baseball teams. But over the past several years, clubs have begun emphasizing the fan experience and player development at their spring training facilities.
The Chicago Cubs are the latest. The city of Mesa, Ariz., and the Cubs invested $99 million in a new spring stadium that opened up Feb. 27 to a sellout crowd. Among the objectives of the new park was building the team's brand long term, creating a unique fan atmosphere and improving the ball club on the field.
Cubs Park designers plucked some notable aspects of the club's famed stadium Wrigley Field. The 15,000-seat facility has a Wrigley-inspired clock, similar lighting fixtures, a Chicago-style roof, a similar marquee to the one on the North side of Chi-town, brick behind home plate reflecting the Cubs' home stadium and the exact playing dimensions as back home.
Architects Populous even had their design team create an outfield party deck to resemble Wrigley's famous rooftops, where fans in Chicago gather to watch from buildings beyond the park.
“When people walked in the ballpark, they were saying, 'this reminds me so much of Wrigley Field,” Project Director David Bower said. “That was a major design accomplishment for us.”
Cubs ownership and management wanted Cubs Park to scream “Wrigley,” but creating Wrigley West wasn't the only brand-building goal. Getting fans – especially young ones – closer to the field and players was of high importance.
One of the ideas to get kids nearer to the action and within reach of autographs was putting a pathway between the team's clubhouse and the field that allows fans to get a look at players heading to the field.
“It becomes where kids can grow with the player,” Bower said. “He tries out for the team, you get his autograph early on and watch him take at-bats in a spring game. That attachment is valuable.”
Also on the Cubs' wish list was ensuring fan comfort in the spring heat of Arizona. Around 70 percent of seats are shade-covered, and concourses are also sheltered. Fans who are more tolerant of the sun can take blankets to the grassy outfield seating area.
Fans spend time on the 'outfield party deck' opening day at Cubs Park. (Photo by Populous)
The stadium features some of the food from Wrigley, too. Paired with Ovations Food Services – a subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor – the Cubs are bringing fans famed Wrigley dishes such as the heavily-topped Chicago Dog and Italian Beef Sandwich.
Included in the 23 carts, six are local subcontractor carts and six concession stands are Chicago titles: Taste of Chicago, Windy City Dog and Eighteen76. Chicago fans traveling to the Southwest will also be able to sample some of the best of Arizona such as the Mesa Tortilla Flats stand, which offers fans stuffed tortillas.
“You have to remember the clientele,” Ovations Regional Vice President Jay Satenspiel said. “There are a lot of folks who are Cubs fans who have retired from all over the country and in the Chicago area that live in the Arizona marketplace. To be able to provide them a taste of Chicago, it's phenomenal. Also the fans who are coming on spring break or vacation from Chicago, they get a taste of Arizona cuisine.
Satenspiel said Ovations, which previously provided food service at the old Cubs facility HohoKam Stadium, will take advantage of the stadium's open design which allows fans to walk around the stadium.
“Spring training is no longer just grabbing a hot dog and soda and watching the game,” he said. “Spring training is an experience. It is a party. It is a party and an atmosphere. Part of that experience includes the food and beverage and we always have that in mind.”
New spring training parks are not only significantly more fan-friendly than their bake-in-the-sun predecessors, they are also better for players. Cubs Park has six practice fields, one half-field, an agility field, weight room and other training facilities. Inside the 12 covered batting tunnels are cameras that can be accessed on-site by coaches or even back in the Cubs' front office in Chicago.
There is also a 125-seat auditorium for team meetings and off-field training.
“With the influx of players from all over the world like Venezuela or the Dominican Republic, they can use this area to bring them together and have classes in this auditorium,” Bower said. “If you think about the language and the money and million-dollar signing bonuses – they want to teach them how to manage all that and they can do so here.”
Cubs Park is one in a group of new spring-training facilities that emphasize the fan experience and player development. The Red Sox opened JetBlue Park last season, which reflects their home stadium Fenway Park. JetBlue Park even included a replica of the large left field wall tagged “The Green Monster.”
Bower said he expects many elements of Cubs Park to be utilized in the next wave of spring- and big-league stadiums.
“We felt this was a game-changing experience for us as designers,” he said. “It will have an impact on the future design, we will see things grow out of this park and you will see some of the same concepts and advances in player development coming throughout baseball.”
In its first three weeks, Cubs Park drew the biggest average crowd in the Cactus League, bringing as many as 15,191 fans to a ballgame and never fewer than 10,000.
Interviewed for this story: David Bower, (816) 221-1500; Jay Satenspiel, (919) 395-7900