A New Spring Home for an Old Resident

First-base entrance to Cubs Park, Jul-2014.

The seating bowl as seen from down the third-base line.

Most of the park is idle during an Arizona rookie league game.

Chronological Tour: Stop 370

• Location: Rio Salado Parkway at Evergreen Road, Mesa, Ariz. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2014 as Cubs Park
• Additional names: Sloan Park (2015)
• Home team: Chicago Cubs (spring training), 2014-present; Cubs, Arizona League (select games); Mesa Solar Sox, Arizona Fall League (2014-present)
• Capacity: 12,500

Rating: 3 baseballs

The park is convenient to motorists, located near the intersection of the Loop 101 and Loop 202 freeways. (There is no exit for Rio Salado Parkway off Loop 101 northbound; take Loop 202 east for one exit to Dobson Road and double back.)

Initially, I did not have a full review of the park, as I attended an Arizona League game here after watching a Major League game in Phoenix earlier in the day. That meant there was no public address announcement and no video board; only the line score portion of the scoreboard was operating. This is standard procedure for the complex-based rookie leagues. I did see an Arizona Fall League game later in the season, but even there the only enhancement was a public address announcer and a single concession stand.

A partnership with Sloan Valve Co. effective in January 2015 changed the name of the park as shown on the Wrigley-style marquee seen at right.