Sloan Park

Mesa, AZ
Construction Cost: $84 million
Area / Square Feet: 142 acres
Occupancy Date: February 2014

The new Chicago Cubs spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz., consists of a stadium with seating for 15,000, three practice fields, four minor league practice fields, one major league half practice field, a 50-room player dormitory, and a 65,000-square-foot clubhouse. The new ballpark features wide concourses and plenty of points of sale from which the action is in plain view. The comfort is extended to the grandstand, where there is plenty of relief from the sun — 70 percent of the seating bowl is shaded at midday.

Of the 15,000 seats, 9,200 are chairback seats, 4,200 are on outfield berms, and 1,600 can be found in the suite level. The key was building capacity without putting in fixed seating; fans are expected to roam the ballpark and move between party decks and other group spaces.

Visitors to the new ballpark walk under trees and stand on earth mixed with old sod from the former golf course site. Dozens of olive, mesquite, pine and oak trees were salvaged from the site before earthwork started and were replanted as part of the landscaping effort.