We finished our 4th Spring Training month in March of this year. We stay on the Mesa side of town. As you may know the Phoenix metro area includes the smaller towns around them. Most of the ballparks are actually in the smaller towns not in Phoenix proper. The streets are very well laid out with 4 lane city streets running from east to west and good freeways generally going north and south, with the 101 loop around the entire area and the 202 loop in the SE area.
I'm skeptical that you can get to all the stadiums in 30 minutes from any one place. The distances and the traffic, especially for night games can be a problem. My humble suggestion would be to stay on either the east or west side the first year and then the other side the next year. This will allow reasonable travel times to the games and to see every stadium. We did every stadium and every team in the one month 2 years ago which resulted in some hour and a half travel times.
Parking lines at some stadiums are so bad we go 2-3 hours early. Tempe-Diablo stadium and Scottsdale stadium immediately come to mind. Others, like the brand new this year Cubs stadium are a 10 minute entry and exit even during cactus lead attendance breaking games. They've done a great job with parking. Their prices are the highest in the league, but they did do the parking right. HoHoKam stadium in Mesa is being rebuilt for the Oakland A's. We'll see if they solve what was a horrible parking problem.
The weather is low 70's in late Feb and early March, gradually rising to the 90's by the end of the month. There has been one day of rain, and game rainouts each year for the past 3 years. A big difference that you'll notice is humidity in the teens instead of 90's. It is a dry heat. The cactus league starts play in the last week or so of February and tapers off in the last 4-5 days of March, so if you're looking at a calendar month you'll miss something at one end.
We have friends that stay in relatives homes in Mesa so we are centered there. There are several Can-Am rv resorts in Mesa/Tempe area. We stayed at Good Life this year and will be a couple blocks away at another Can Am park next year. Eventually we'll find one we like for every year, but it's all a personal matter of what you like. There are many full time residents at Good Life..... they're the ones with the oval name tags and the part timers are the ones with the square nametags. If you're thinking there may be a subtle class differential you may be right. And yes, you must wear your nametag at all park events, of which there are many. Dances, ice cream socials, going away parties, bingo, etc. are all available. They also have a few entertainment nights at the different parks which all Can Am park residents are invited. Donny Osmond was one this year, a trained dog show, and some other similar acts came to the area. Get your reservations early, like October or November when the schedule first comes out. They do sell out and the seats available in March are pretty poor.
Can-Am parks also offer discounts to other events. We go to 2-3 Phoenix Coyotes pro hockey games each year with the discounts. Decent seats in the corner, which happens to be where I like to sit, or up in nosebleed heaven which is close to watching hockey on tv. If you're a low center ice fan you won't like either discounted choice. Again, order early in Oct or Nov when the schedule first comes out.
Your ages are almost identical to ours. I'll be 57 in November and my wife is "a few years older". The average age in the parks is mid 70's so there is a gap. There are many nice folks but the age gap is pretty obvious most times.
Ken
