Camelback Ranch-Glendale

Phoenix, Ariz.
Construction Cost: $105 million
Occupancy Date: February 2009

The Camelback Ranch-Glendale spring training facility is designed with 10,000 fixed seats and 3,000 lawn seats, making it the largest facility in Arizona’s Cactus League. Located on a 141-acre site with a three-acre lake, the stadium includes more than 118,000 square feet of major- and minor-league clubhouses, as well as four major-league practice fields, eight minor-league practice fields, two practice infields and a 200-seat premium seating lounge.

The dual spring home of the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers is designed to appear to rise from the flat valley floor. A symmetrical two-building outpost in center field houses the main ticket office, the team store and other operations. The curved buildings immediately set the tone for the experience at Camelback Ranch-Glendale; the 14 buildings comprising the complex feature sloping roofs, asymmetrical designs and organic appearances.

Fans park on the opposite side of the complex from the ballpark and then make their way through the training complex before reaching the game, getting a chance to see multiple workouts on multiple diamonds. Each of the facility’s main tenants has training facilities for both the major- and minor-league squads, allowing for smoothly run year-round operations. The White Sox chose to put minor- and major-league facilities in the same building, while the Dodgers elected to break out the minor-league operations in a three-building complex, with separate buildings for training, support and clubhouses.

Judge's Comments

The entire complex is very impressive, but contextual details and the ÒvillageÓ feel of the smaller asymmetrical buildings around the stadium make this project special. It's refreshing to see creativity in this building type and not another old-style ballpark.
— Chris Sgarzi

An incredible array of support buildings and playfields that naturally flow together and unify the entire complex.
— Colleen McKenna

The use of natural materials and shapes in a ballpark setting was well done. Everything from the scale to the overriding planning concept was well executed.
— Dwayne Brinkley