Fans attending spring-training games at Peoria Stadium in 2015 will be the winners, as a second round of renovations address improvements to the fan experience at the home of the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners.
The improvements, which began in the summer of 2013, were part of a new 20-year lease between the city and the two teams, extending the Peoria Sports Complex arrangement through 2034. The first round of the renovations, completed before spring training in 2014, upgraded clubhouses and training facilities for both teams, with a price tag of $30 million. The next round of improvements, currently underway, will address the fan experience, with $6 million invested into seating enhancements, façade improvements, expanded entry and plaza area, and upgrades to field and lighting systems.
We have all the details at our sister site, Spring Training Online.
The moves were necessary to keep pace in the Cactus League: new facilities in Mesa and Scottsdale have certainly raised the bar when it comes to player facilities and fan amenities, and Peoria Stadium — the first two-team complex in spring training — has been showing its age. But with the upgraded fan amenities and improved concessions unveiled last spring, Peoria Stadium should remain one of the better places to catch a spring-training game.
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