AZ Vibe – The Ultimate Phoenix Entertainment Resource

SALT RIVER PIMA-MARICOPA INDIAN COMMUNITY (Arizona)-The HKS Sports & Entertainment Group, designers of many world class sports facilities like the new Cowboys Stadium (Irving, Texas), Miller Park (Milwaukee, WI), and the new Glendale Spring Training Facility (Spring Training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox), today released design photos for the new Salt River Fields.

Salt River Fields will be the new Spring Training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Avalanche.

The new design photos for the new Salt River Fields have also been uploaded to our Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/azvibe

“We wanted to reinvent the fan experience of spring training by designing a distinctive destination that focuses on fan connectivity to the players while creating a unique environment that embodies the character, values and culture of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks,” said Byron Chambers, director of sports design, HKS Sports & Entertainment Group.

Built on 140 acres of Native American land, Salt River Fields will be leveraged 365 days a year with many and various events, in addition to Spring Training, that will help the area economy immensely.

Here’s some quick stats about Salt River Fields:

• Opens February 1, 2011
• Located at Highway 101 and Indian Bend
• It’s the first spring training facility to be build on Native American land
• Both the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks will have separate training facilities
• Features an 11,000 seat central stadium
• 12 practice fields
• Parking available for 1,600 vehicles
• The community theme for the ballpark is ‘Two Teams – Two Tribes – One Home’.  The Two teams are the Diamondbacks and the Rockies.  The Two tribes are the Pima and Maricopa tribes.
• Will allow fans to watch Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies players practice up close and personal

“This is the most uniquely designed facility in all of baseball,” said D-backs’ President & CEO Derrick Hall. “It exudes friendliness and comfort, which was our intention from the outset. We preach fan-friendliness every day at Chase Field and are proud to know that the same approach will be present at our new spring training complex.”

Popularity: 6% [?]

PHOENIX-Now that the Major League Baseball deadline has passed, here’s a quick summary of the salary dumping trades that the Arizona Diamondbacks were involved in:

July 25th – Dan Haren traded to The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Saunders, two prospects and a player to be named later – The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today they have acquired left-handed pitchers Joe Saunders and Patrick Corbin, right-handed pitcher Rafael Rodriguez and a player to be named later from the Los Angeles Angels for right-handed pitcher Dan Haren, according to D-backs’ interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto.

July 30 – P Jackson traded to the Chicago White Sox for Hudson, Holmberg - The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today they have acquired right-handed pitcher Dan Hudson and left-handed pitcher David Holmberg from the Chicago White Sox for right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson, according to D-backs’ interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto

July 31 – P Chad Qualls traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a player to be named later

July 31 – C Chris Snyder, Minor leaguer Pedro Ciriaco and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Carrasco, Church and Crosby.
– The Diamondbacks send Catcher Chris Snyder, Minor League player Pedro Ciriaco and $3 Million Dollars to the Pirates for Pitcher D.J. Carrasco, Infielder Ryan Church and Infielder Bobby Crosby.

When all was said and done, the Diamondbacks unloaded approximately $25 million in salary (according to ESPN.com), received some great prospects in return, and will be in a great position to re-tool their lineup for next season. In the short term, D-backs fans may not like these deals but in the long run, this will help out the club not only on the field but in the stability of their entire organization.

Popularity: 7% [?]

PHOENIX-Tonight in Anaheim, California the eyes of all Major League Baseball fans will be glued to there televisions sets for the Home Run Derby which begins the 2010 All Star Game festivities. Diamondbacks fans will be wanting to tune in as their lone All-Star Game representative, Chris Young, will be participating in the Home Run Derby.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Young said. “No matter what the results are, just to be able to say you were in the Home Run Derby is pretty cool. I am going to go out there and compete and make the best out of it.”

The Home Run Derby begins at 5:00 PM Arizona Time on ESPN.

The Home Run Derby Participants are as follows:

Miguel Cabrera – Detroit
Corey Hart – Milwalkee
Matt Holliday – St. Louis
David Ortiz – Boston
Hanley Ramirez – Florida
Nick Swisher – New York Yankess
Vernon Wells – Toronto
Chris Young – Arizona

Popularity: 8% [?]

It’s been a while since we have had some Diamondbacks news hasn’t it?!?!?

Well, one of the reasons why we haven’t had news is that we’re busy behind the scenes building a dedicated Arizona Diamondbacks site for the coming season. We should have the site live within the next couple of weeks.

Anyways….

Spring Training is in Full swing and the D-Backs are in their final year in Tuscon. They will be in Scottsdale next season in a brand new facility.

- Single Game seats to all 81 Diamondbacks home games are now on sale at Chase Field, via dbacks.com, by phone (602-514-8400 or 1-888-777-4664), or at any Ticketmaster Outlet. There are 28 Fry’s locations in Arizona (includes 6 locations in Tucson) where you can purchase Arizona Diamondbacks Tickets.

Tickets range in price from $8 to $60.

- On March 3rd, The Arizona Diamondbacks signed 22 year old Justin Upton to a six year $51.25 million dollar contract. According to ESPN, the contract is broken down like this:

…a $1.25 million signing bonus, half on April 15 and the rest on July 15. He receives salaries of $500,000 this year, $4.25 million in 2011, $6.75 million in 2012, $9.75 million in 2013, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 million in 2015.

Popularity: 3% [?]

That’s right fans!  The Arizona Diamondbacks have a special offer for fans who aren’t season ticket holders to purchase advanced regular season tickets for the 2010 season.  All fans have to do is purchase a Holiday six- pack of any games you choose and you can get advanced tickets to any game or games next season.  This includes the New York Yankees visit to Chase Field next season!

For more information and to purchase tickets, please refer to this link:

http://www.dbacks.com/holiday

Popularity: 11% [?]

The Absolute #1 thing to do this week is on Saturday (August 29th) night at Chase Field.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are literally having a party at the game against the Astros. First Pitch is at 5:10 PM.  Now the Diamondbacks have announced that they will be having a Luis Gonzalez appreciation night.  The team will honor Gonzo with a pre-game on field ceremony and the first 25,000 fans will also receive a commemorative ‘Gonzo’ T-shirt.

Now here’s the reason why it’s a party.

In addition to the festivities, you will get…

1) The baseball game

2) A post game concert with country superstars Montgomery Gentry

3) A post game fireworks show after the concert

That, as they say, is not all.

The Phoenix Area chapter of Saint Vincent de Paul is offering you a chance to head to this once in a lifetime event while raising money for them in the process.  You can purchase special tickets to this game for $10 or $35 (as of press time only 14 $35 tickets remain) and a portion of the proceeds go to Saint Vincent de Paul.  Just follow the link below for details on how to purchase tickets.

http://www.azvibe.com/phoenix-entertainment/2009/08/20/raise-money-for-st-vincent-de-paul-by-purchasing-d-backs-tickets-starting-at-10/

Other tickets, if sold out, can be purchased here:

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=ari

UPDATE: 2:30 PM AZ Time

The Diamondbacks have announced a press conference for 1 PM Arizona Time on Saturday (August 29th) where Gonzo will formally announce his retirement. We will be at the press conference and will bring you audio and video of the proceedings.

Popularity: 23% [?]

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to partner with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball teams to build a new spring training facility on Community land. It is the first Major League spring training facility in the U.S. to be built on Indian land.

According to the MOU, the SRPMIC will 100% fund, build and run this new facility.  The Facility will consist of a two team spring training baseball facility, an 11,000 seat ball park, 12 practice fields, office buildings that will house operations, major and minor league clubhouses and training facilities for both teams.

The SRPMIC and both baseball teams will be working together on the design with HKS Architects.  HKS most known projects have been the new Glendale Camelback Ranch spring training facility, and the new Cowboys stadium in Dallas.

“Our ancestors built ball courts on this land and throughout the valley,” said SRPMIC President Diane Enos. “Now we are excited about ‘bringing baseball home’ to our Community. It will add to the enjoyment of our members, Arizona residents and visitors to our state. This multipurpose facility is an ideal match for the vision of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community as we develop land along our western commercial corridor.”

The facility will be located at Indian Bend and Highway 101 and will open in Spring of 2011.

Popularity: 3% [?]

In a move that happened not too long ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded Pitcher Tony Pena to the Chicago White Sox for first base prospect Brandon Allen. Allen spent time at AA Birmingham and AAA Charlotte combining to hit .281 (85 for 302) with 16 doubles, 3 triples, eight home runs, and 43 RBI.

Allen has been assigned to AAA Reno while the D-Backs will call up a reliver to fill the spot that Pena filled for Tomorrow’s game.

“Primarily as we look at our team, our position players, and try to keep our offense moving forward, we wanted another big left-handed bat to grow with our core, ideally a first baseman,” D-backs general manager Josh Byrnes said.

Popularity: 2% [?]

On the heels of a successful postgame concert with Lifehouse, the Arizona Diamondbacks have announced the second installment of their post game concert series.

Montgomery Gentry will be headlining the August 29th post game concert following the 1:10 PM Diamondbacks game with Houston Astros.  All you have to do is purchase a ticket to the game and you can watch the show for free.

Stay tuned as there just might be an opportunity to win some VIP passes to the concert.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Arizona Diamondbacks have just announced that they have notified Pima Count authorities that they intend to re-locate to the Phoenix area after 2010 Spring Training.

Arizona Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall had the following to say about today’s news.

“This decision comes with mixed emotions, as we obviously have a deep history with and genuine fondness for Tucson. With the current environment of spring training in Southern Arizona having led to the Colorado Rockies’ recent and formal decision to relocate, we find ourselves in the undesirable position as the only MLB team operating there beyond 2010. We have narrowed down our options to a few we consider exciting and realistic opportunities, and continue gathering more facts and details with hopes of coming to an agreement quickly.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

1) A Taste of Greece – May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd – Tempe Beach Park – Come on out to a great cultural event this weekend!

http://www.atasteofgreeceaz.com/

2) The Dave Matthews Band – May 6th – Cricket Wireless Pavilion – Tickets still available at all Live Nation Outlets. Guaranteed to be a great show and an excellent pick for this week.

http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/402630/

3) Movies under the Stars #3 – WaterDance Film Festival – Westgate City Center – 8:00 PM – Free – The Steven Spielberg classic, Jaws will be playing

http://www.azvibe.com/phoenix-entertainment/2009/04/23/westgate-city-center-hosts-the-first-annual-waterdance-film-festival/

4) Movies in the Park with ‘From Russia With Love’ – Fridays Through April – Biltmore Fashion Park – Speaking of Movies how about heading to the Biltmore Fashion Park and watching the classic 007 Movie ‘From Russia With Love’? The fun starts at 7:30 at the Center Lawn of the Biltmore Fashion Park. Oh yeah. It’s Free.

http://www.azvibe.com/phoenix-entertainment/2009/04/23/movies-in-the-park-biltmore-fashion-park-free/ http://www.shopbiltmore.com/events.asp?id=9160

5) Star Trek Exhibition at the Arizona Science Center – How cool is it when you get to not only sit in Captain Kirk’s chair but check out the bridge from the Enterprise D? Open Daily. Please refer to the link below for hours and ticket information.  Closes soon!!

http://www.azscience.org/star_trek.php

6) Shake! – Every Saturday Night – Rogue Bar – Scottsdale – $5 (approx) If you are a frequent reader of this site you know that one of the best places to go on a Saturday night is Shake!. Great Music and fun for a great price!

http://www.azvibe.com/phoenix-entertainment/2008/10/27/review-shake-the-rogue-saturday-october-25th/

7) FUSE – Bar Smith – Friday Nights – $5 – Bar Smith – Downtown Phoenix – 10PM – 2 AM

8) Arizona Diamondbacks – Chase Field – That’s right folks! Another season of Arizona Diamondbacks baseball is underway! Come and see your Diamondbacks take on some of the best teams in the league and battle their way to the playoffs! Tickets can be purchased through the Arizona Diamondbacks website:

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=ari

9) First Friday! – Downtown Phoenix – How can you miss this?!?!?

Popularity: 11% [?]

I’ve been thinking about a lead paragraph for this review but all I can come up with is ‘Man what a great event this was!’  The Assist4Africa Charity Basketball Game consisted of current and former Phoenix Area pro sports athletes and local media.  The list of Celebrities included former NBA players Tom Chambers, Dan Majerle, Eddie Johnson, current Phoenix Coyotes Daniel Winnick, and Keith Yandel, as well as players like former Arizona Diamondbacks star Quentin McCracken.

From the opening tip off, the fans were in for a treat the entire game long. There was some players that were taking the game a wee bit seriously but there were some hilarious moments during the game as well.  Most of them came from former Suns player Cedric Ceballos.  For example, whenever former Suns player Mark West went to the foul line, Ceballos layed down on the court and said that (paraphrasing) “West is shooting, we’re going to be here for a while”.

Here’s another gem from Ceballos after Larry Fitzgerald fouls him.  His comments come after he jogs off screen to the right:

Even though this was a basketball game, it didn’t follow any sort of format or time schedule which was not only refreshing for a change but it added to the fun atmosphere of the event.  The players on the team were there to entertain and left the fans more than satisfied.  Various stoppages in play brought out different activities from a live auction of a Kurt Warner Autographed jersey along with lunch with Mr. Warner, to a dance contest with Kids, to a representative from Partners in Malawi (the organization where all the proceeds were going) talking about the wonderful work they have been doing.

On the opposite end of the floor, there was a silent auction with a large number of REALLY killer sports memorabilia available.  For example, Orlando Magic super star Dwight Howard had an autographed jersey available and there was a hockey stick signed by the entire Phoenix Coyotes team.

All in all, this was a spectacular event from start to finish.  I just wish there were more people there as they missed an extremely entertaining evening.  We would love to help out next year in the promotions department as this is a great event benefiting an extremely worthy cause.

I was re-reading the original press release for Assist4Africa just now and one line stuck out for me:

This is the third time for the event and it promises to be the best ever.

I couldn’t agree more.

Partners in Malawi is a non-profit organization designed to promote the awareness and education of AIDS/HIV in Malawi.  All of the proceeds from the event went to all the efforts this organization does in Malawi.

For more information about Partners In Malawi, please refer to their website:

http://www.partnersinmalawi.org/

Editor’s Note:  We are experiencing challenges with the photos we have taken at the event.  Until we are able to post the images here, we have uploaded the all of our pictures from the Assist4Africa Charity Basketball Game to our Facebook Fan Page:

Part 1:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77418&id=33123943379&l=354ecd7161

Part 2:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77420&id=33123943379&l=f4bd8ae385

Part 3:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77413&id=33123943379&l=4afbc89e53

Popularity: 21% [?]

1) The Phoenix Coyotes vs. St. Louis Blues – April 7 – 7 PM – Jobing.com Arena – This is the second to last home game of the season for the Coyotes. Since they have returned to full strength they are finishing the season on a REAL strong note. Don’t miss your chance to see some great hockey before the weather skyrockets into the triple digits!

http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/246515/806002?brand=phxcoyotes&camefrom=CFC_COYOTES

2) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – April 3 – 7:30 PM – Jobing.com Arena – The Second night of his world tour comes to Glendale at the Jobing.com arena for a show that is destined to sell out. If you have never seen the Boss in action, you need to clear your schedule and head to his show. There’s a reason why he’s the hardest working man in show business.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1E00423BDCE26B36?artistid=860453&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1

3) Tempe Music Festival – April 3rd and 4th – Tempe Beach Park – As mentioned previously, one of the biggest musical events of the year is coming to the Tempe Beach Park. Kid Rock and 3 Doors Down are some of the killer acts that will be playing at the festival.

http://www.tempemusicfestival.com/

4) Star Trek Exhibition at the Arizona Science Center – How cool is it when you get to not only sit in Captain Kirk’s chair but check out the bridge from the Enterprise D? Open Daily. Please refer to the link below for hours and ticket information.

http://www.azscience.org/star_trek.php

5) The 26th Annual Gibson Jazz & Blues Festival – Historic Downtown Glendale – April 4th and 5th – Free – One of the coolest and most eclectic Jazz and Blues lineup will be coming to downtown Glendale to throw down some amazing tracks.

For more information along with the times and lineups of artists please refer to the festival website:

http://www.glendaleaz.com/events/GlendaleJazzBluesFestival.cfm

6) First Friday! – Downtown Phoenix – How can you miss this?!?!?

7) Shake! – Every Saturday Night – Rogue Bar – Scottsdale – $5 (approx) If you are a frequent reader of this site you know that one of the best places to go on a Saturday night is Shake!. Great Music and fun for a great price!

http://www.azvibe.com/phoenix-entertainment/2008/10/27/review-shake-the-rogue-saturday-october-25th/

8) FUSE – Bar Smith – Friday Nights – $5 – Bar Smith – Downtown Phoenix – 10PM – 2 AM

9) The Phoenix Film Festival – Scottsdale – April 2 to April 9 – The Phoenix Film Festival is back again for another run and from the looks of every movie synopsis it’s going to be a great one. There are a wide variety of films to choose from and it also looks like there’s a local movie maker category which is always fun to watch.

http://www.phoenixfilmfestival.org/

10) Movies in the Park with ‘From Russia With Love’ – Fridays Through April – Biltmore Fashion Park – Speaking of Movies how about heading to the Biltmore Fashion Park and watching the classic 007 Movie ‘From Russia With Love’? The fun starts at 7:30 at the Center Lawn of the Biltmore Fashion Park. Oh yeah. It’s Free.

http://www.shopbiltmore.com/events.asp?id=9160

11) Dark Star Orchestra – April 4th 2009 – Marquee Theater – $23 – 6:30PM – The absolute best Grateful Dead Tribute Band comes the Valley of the Sun to jam to some of the classic Grateful Dead songs. If you have never seen the Dark Star Orchestra, and you are a fan of the Dead, you need to be here to see this amazing production.

Tickets:
https://www.etix.com/ticket/servlet/onlineSale%3bjsessionid=C5B6E63F59B0C129DC63B1DB0A5F0BDC?action=selectPerformance&cobrand=luckymanonline&performance_id=884533

12) Star Trek Movie Marathon – Chandler Cinemas – April 3rd, 4th, and 5th- $10 – See Link for Movie times – The Chandler Cinemas is having a Star Trek Movie Marathon this weekend for all to come see. The Movies featured will be Star Trek 2, 3, and 4. Admission is $10 for one movi

Last but certainly not Least….

13) OPENING DAY!!! – Arizona Diamondbacks – April 6 – 12:40 PM – Chase Field – That’s right folks! Another season of Arizona Diamondbacks baseball is just about underway! The opening game will be an afternoon game and is a great excuse to use your ’9 inning flu’ excuse to get out of work.

Tickets can be purchased through the Arizona Diamondbacks website:

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=ari

Popularity: 24% [?]

That’s right! We have just added the entire 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks regular season games (Home and Away) to the Calendar so you can plan ahead for all the great action to come this season!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Now that the technical challenges with AZ Vibe have been resolved here’s the list of things to do for the coming week.  Lots of fun stuff to do!

1) The Phoenix Coyotes vs. Vancouver Canucks – March 21 – 7 PM – Jobing.com Arena – One of the top teams in the league, the Vancouver Canucks, make their final appearance of the season in the Valley of the Sun.  It’s also 80′s night at the Coyotes Game and prizes will be given out to the best costume.

http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=414140

2) Spring Training – Various Ballparks around the Greater Phoenix Area – Spring Training is just about over so don’t miss the opportunity to catch a ball game in this amazing weather!

http://www.cactusleague.com/

3) Charlie Murphy -  Tempe Improv – March 21 @ 8 and 10 PM – March 22 @ 8 PM – If you don’t know who Charlie Murphy is, here’s a refresher… http://www.pp2g.tv/vYnt6YXQ_.aspx

http://www.tempeimprov.com/

4) The 39th Annual Scottsdale Arts Festival – March 21 from 10 AM to 6 PM and March 22 from 10 AM to 5 PM – Scottsdale Civic Center Mall – One of the top Arts Festivals in the Nation is back again for artists to display their many and various works to the public.

http://www.scottsdaleartsfestival.org/

5) New Found Glory – Wed March 25th – 6:00 PM – Marquee Theater – $18.50 – $22.00 – Tempe

6) Bikini contest – Sunday’s Through April 5 – American Junkie – Scottsdale – Free – Not too much is know about this as it is a Facebook event which means we’re probably going to have to check it out.  Shoot.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=52834859196

7) Shake! – Every Saturday Night – Rogue Bar – Scottsdale – $5 (approx) If you are a frequent reader of this site you know that one of the best places to go on a Saturday night is Shake!.  Great Music and fun for a great price!

http://www.azvibe.com/phoenix-entertainment/2008/10/27/review-shake-the-rogue-saturday-october-25th/

8) Saw Film Festival (Saw 2, 3, and 4) – Chandler Cinemas – $15 – This is a fundraiser for the wonderful and hard working people that make up the many events that take place at the Chandler Cinemas.  There is SO much going on this weekend that it would be impossible to list.  Instead, refer to the Chandler Cinema’s website for the complete list of what’s going on.  If you get bored here, you probably don’t have a pulse:

http://www.chandlercinemas.com/news.html

9) Arizona Renaissance Festival – $5-$20 – 2/7/09 – 3/29/09

10) BBQ – This is the absolute perfect weekend to host or attend a BBQ at a friends house or your neighborhood park.

Popularity: 19% [?]