After 40 seasons of home games at Packard Stadium, Sun Devil baseball moves off campus to Phoenix Municipal Stadium. ASU’s 2015 season opens against Oklahoma State on February 13th.

While I personally feel that college athletics are better when played at an on-campus facility, moving to Muni has many advantages:

1. Saves the university from having to spend upwards of $25 million to upgrade Packard, including make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
2. Over the years, Muni has been the Spring Training home of the New York/San Francisco Giants, the Yankees, and the Oakland A’s, so it gives ASU a Major League quality facility
3. Capacity more than doubles—Packard could accommodate roughly 4,000 fans, while Muni holds about 9,000
4. Phoenix Municipal has more public restrooms than Packard, which is always a good thing
5. The new video/score board is twice as big as Packard’s, which increases the opportunity for advertising revenue and improves the fan experience
6. More concession stands, suites, party decks, and patios will add to the fan experience, along with (potentially) increasing revenue

The Stadium will still be owned and operated by the City of Phoenix, saving ASU money on operating costs. The city & the university will split revenue from non-baseball events already on the calendar. However, revenue from any future non-baseball events booked by the university will go directly to ASU.

Photo- ASU Baseball

ASU has put in about $3 million in renovations at Phoenix Municipal. That’s at least $20 million less than the cost of renovating Packard Stadium. That along with the potential increase in revenue makes this a win/ win situation for Arizona State, the athletic department, the baseball program, and Sun Devil baseball fans.

Aside from the benefits listed above, there may be a single factor above all that fans will love about this move. In my opinion, the biggest benefit to moving games off campus is this:

Beer can be sold at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

This hasn’t been confirmed, and no one with ASU or the city of Phoenix has come out and said so, but it’s expected that beer will be sold during Sun Devil Baseball games at Muni.

Considering all of the differences between Packard Stadium and Phoenix Municipal, the potential to sell beer may be the most noticeable difference of all.