Located in the Northeastern reaches of the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix – otherwise known as the Valley of the Sun – attracts sun lovers year round and particularly those who are looking to escape in the cold winter months. Whether you’re looking to hike Camelback Mountain or just relax and take in some amazing Southwestern cuisine, Phoenix has something for everyone. Not to mention an abundance of GREAT sporting teams and events to watch whilst you are out there!
The Cardinals are Arizona’s NFL team and are actually the oldest team in pro football history in terms of continuous operation. Since joining the NFL the Cardinals have called three cities home (Chicago & St Louis been the other two) but have settled in Phoenix since 1988 and play their home games at the state of the art University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale. Despite being one of the teams to never win a Super Bowl, the Cardinals have had a successful period in the last 15 years and reached their first Super Bowl in 2008 losing out to the Steelers on that occasion. With a young, creative head coach in Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray behind centre the future is bright for this historic franchise.
By the Cardinals Stadium in Glendale you also have the Coyotes who are the local NHL team. Originally based in Winnipeg, the team relocated to Phoenix in 1996 and have made the playoffs 9 times since. NHL is an incredibly fast and enthralling sport, especially when watching live and is a great accompaniment to a multi-sport trip to the city.
If NFL or NHL is not your passion then Phoenix also possesses a couple of great downtown options for watching sport. The Phoenix Suns are the city’s NBA team and play in the heart of downtown at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. Despite also never winning a championship, the Suns have consistently been a mainstay in the playoffs and are the team with the most wins to never win a title. Head coach Monty Williams will be aiming for a return to the playoffs next season after an 8-0 record in the conclusion to the 2020 season in Orlando.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, often shortened to the D-backs also play in downtown Phoenix and their arena Chase Field will be easily walkable from a downtown hotel. The D-backs were an expansion team to MLB in 1998 and therefore their history is not particularly long but they did become the quickest team to win a World Series from their inception, winning in just their 4th season in 2001. The retractable roof on Chase Field is also a god send and will ensure that you can comfortably watch the ball game throughout those summer months!
College sports are always a great addition to a US sports trip, the local team to Phoenix is the Arizona State Sun Devils playing around 10 miles east of downtown or, if you’re up for hiring a car and a bit of a road trip, you have the University of Arizona Wildcats around a 90 minutes’ drive from downtown in Tucson. Both colleges are members of the Pac-12 conference which offers some great quality division one viewing.
The city doesn’t stop there with it’s sporting options as every year in February, the city also hosts the Phoneix Open which is an annual PGA Tour event. It regularly gains attention for its raucous atmosphere and famous 16th hole which is the only full enclosed ‘stadium’ hole on the tour and has a capacity of 20,000 spectators.
Whether you’re an Arizona sports fan already or just looking for a different city with a great game day experience. Phoenix is a fantastic and often good value option. Complete one of our request forms and we can get working on an itinerary for you!
