The new San Francisco Giants Player Development Center at Papago Park in Phoenix, Ariz., includes a first-of-its-kind space for Major League Baseball training facilities: an indoor half field. Enclosed within a more than 30,000 sf building, this structure also features hitting and pitching lanes.
The 33-acre site opened in February 2022 with six outdoor practice fields (five natural grass, and one synthetic turf), an agility field, and covered exterior pitching lanes. Major and minor leaguers have easy access from the main clubhouse and locker rooms to all the playing fields and indoor areas along a centrally organized walkway and to the agility field just outside the weight room doors.
Players have the option to practice and train indoors or outdoors on a mix of natural turf and synthetic turf, allowing them to develop flexible skills. The center of the complex features a plaza offering public access for games and exhibitions.
The main structure, a 50,000 sf clubhouse building, houses five player locker rooms, coaching locker rooms, a weight room, player training space and hydrotherapy on the ground floor. The second level features two classrooms, a dining hall, office/meeting spaces, and an observation deck with views to all six practice fields. The clubhouse’s interior is designed to reflect Papago Park and its surroundings, with a desert-like palette and warm, subtle tones and natural materials such as reclaimed wood throughout the space.
It also provides stunning views of the nearby topography—the Papago Buttes and Camelback Mountain to the north and Four Peaks to the east. From the reception atrium with distressed wood finishes and a desert orange leather backdrop, to the dining space and training areas with expansive glass walls, the clubhouse turns outward and embraces its space.
Other notable features include a new 15,380 sf groundskeeping and maintenance building with sustainable features such as a wastewater recycling system for washing mowers and equipment. The site was previously used as the Oakland A’s training facility from 1988-2014. That facility was demolished and rebuilt for the Giants and its affiliate teams—the Sacramento River Cats Triple-A, Richmond Flying Squirrels Double-A, Eugene Emeralds High-A, and San Jose Giants Low-A teams.
Owner and/or developer: San Francisco Giants, through an agreement with the City of Phoenix and the City of Scottsdale
Design architect: Populous
Architect of record: Populous
MEP engineer: Henderson Engineers
Structural engineer: A.V. Schwan & Associates
General contractor/construction manager: Okland (all buildings); Frontier Golf (site and fields)
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