Phoenix is Home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Impressive Chase Field

Phoenix is home to one of the most impressive Major League Baseball facilities in the country – Chase Field, which is home base for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The air-conditioned stadium features a state-of-the-art retractable roof plus nearly a quarter mile of concession stand areas, a beer garden and even a swimming pool.

Located on prime Phoenix real estate in the heart of downtown, ground was first broken for Chase Field in November of 1995. Designed to be one of Major League Baseball’s most unique parks, then-named Bank One Ballpark was the first to feature a pool, which sits 415 feet from home plate, just beyond the right-field fence.

Built at a cost of $354 million, Chase Field took almost two-and-a-half years to build, with architectural motifs borrowed from the downtown Phoenix warehouse district, using red brick and exposed green structural steel. On March 31st, 1998, it was finally time to ‘play ball,’ and the stadium was officially opened when the Diamondbacks took on the Colorado Rockies. Chase Field was also the site of the seventh game of the 2001 World Series, when the D-Backs famously beat the New York Yankees.

Made with nine million pounds of structural steel and operating with technology used in overhead traveling cranes and drawbridges, the roof can be opened/closed in just over four minutes. Opening from the middle, the roof utilizes a pair of 200-horsepower motors along with more than four miles of cable strung through a pulley system.

Weather is, of course, the primary factor in deciding if the roof will be open or closed. Thanks to Arizona’s hot summer months, the roof is rarely open during day-games, not only because of the heat, but also because of the effect that the afternoon sunlight has on fans seated on the first-base line.

Public tours of Chase Field are available and last approximately 75 minutes. Reservations are suggested.