Hubbry Logo
search
logo

Compadre Stadium

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Compadre Stadium

Compadre Stadium was a stadium located in Chandler, Arizona. It was the spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1986 to 1997 and the home field of the Chandler Diamondbacks of the Arizona Fall League from 1992 to 1994. The ballpark was privately financed by local developers and built at a cost of $1.6 million in 1985. It closed in 1997 and sat abandoned for a number of years, with the outfield being used for grazing, before finally being demolished in 2014.

The stadium was named after the local non-profit Chandler Compadres, who were allowed to keep the parking fees as a fundraiser. The organization later offered to purchase the stadium from Maricopa County after the Brewers moved out in 1997 for $1.6 million.

In 1982, Chandler mayor Jim Patterson first approached the Brewers about moving their spring training facility from Sun City to Chandler. Patterson was aware that the owners of the Brewers' spring training ballpark, Sun City Stadium, had sold the facility to private developers and the Brewers would soon need a new spring home. After leaving office, Patterson built a 2,700-acre (11 km2) development he named Ocotillo, in which he placed the ballpark.

In April 1985, the Brewers agreed to move their spring training camp from Sun City to Chandler where local authorities planned to build a 20-acre (81,000 m2) complex in exchange for the Brewers signing a 10-year lease. The Brewers moved into Compadre Stadium for the 1986 Cactus League spring training. The facility was the first Cactus League stadium with grass seating in the outfield. It also featured an artificial lake. The Compadre Stadium complex also offered the Brewers a number of state-of-the art features at the time, including an infield diamond, several batting cages, and on-site practice fields.

The stadium faced problems immediately upon opening. A gas explosion inside the Brewers' locker room at Compadre Stadium during the 1986 spring training seriously burned several of the Brewer coaches, including third base coach Tony Muser. Muser was in line to become the Brewers' manager, but did not because of his injuries. The facility had only been open four days. The Chandler fire department downplayed speculation hasty construction on the stadium had led to the explosion.

Parking was far away from the entrance and the stadium was also on the outskirts of Phoenix; the proximity to nearby farms led a local paper to comment the stadium "smells like hell." The players had to go through the stadium to reach the locker room, and each dugout had only a portable toilet.

The Brewers drew 51,800 fans to Compadre in 1986 and 69,158 in 1987, but after two seasons the stadium did not break even on spring training alone, and the stadium began to look for other events to fill its schedule after sitting idle for most of 1986 to help the Bermuda grass field grow. The stadium then hosted a number of concerts during the spring training offseason.

The then-record Cactus League attendance of 9,812 fans was set on March 26, 1988 at Compadre for a game against the Chicago Cubs.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.