Roundtable: What is your favorite Tucson sports stadium?

Jacob Mennuti – Hello Corbett Field

I’ve had a lot of unforgettable memories in almost every stadium in Tucson. From the rain at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium for the first game in the newly renovated stadium to soaking up the April sun on Bear Down Beach for my first assignment as a reporter for the Daily Wildcat. But Hi Corbett Field will always be my favorite Tucson stadium for one reason: the sunsets. It was the first stadium in Tucson I had been to high school when I was on campus during my spring break. The Arizona baseball team was running a series against Stanford the weekend I was in town. Being the die-hard baseball fan, I had to take the time to visit Hi Corbett Field and watch a game. I had never seen a sunset as amazing as the one that painted the sky behind the right field wall that night. I thought I was lucky to see a sunset like this, but little did I know this was just another normal night at Hi Corbett Field.

Ari Koslow – Hello Corbett Field

My favorite sports stadium in Tucson is Hi Corbett Field, home of the Arizona baseball team. It will always have a special place in my heart as baseball was the first sport I covered with the Daily Wildcat, making it the first stadium I visited regularly in Tucson. I will never forget the first game I covered, where I was able to attend an on-field interview with legendary Wildcat baseball player and MLB Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, whose jersey was withdrawn by the Wildcats ahead of the 2019 season opener has been .

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Sean Fagan – McKale Center

My favorite arena in Tucson is the McKale Center. Funny thing is, I’ve never been to the arena! I am an online student living in California. However, what makes it my favorite arena is its personal meaning to me. Before joining the Daily Wildcat, I had never written a sports piece for a newspaper. My first assignment the week I was hired was watching the Arizona Wildcats battle ASU and discussing the game on our weekly podcast. I adjusted to the game and it became a nail biter! Arizona won on a tip and I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to get on the podcast and talk about everything. I’ve always wanted to make a living doing sports, and this game at McKale Center was the first step in making my dreams come true.

Jordan White – Tucson Arena

My favorite sports arena in Tucson is the Tucson Arena in the Tucson Convention Center. I’ve only been there a couple of times. However, it made a lasting impression on me because it introduced me to hockey. I already knew what hockey was, of course, but when I grew up in California, I only knew one person who played it. None of my friends or family were ever interested in it, so I never felt the urge to try it out. But that changed during my junior year at the University of Arizona. One of my ex-roommates was a member of the UA men’s ice hockey team and invited us to some of his games. After I finally agreed to leave, I was able to experience the support of hockey for the first time. Even though it was only at the college club level, it was still exciting and different from other sports like basketball and soccer. I will always remember the first time I stepped into this arena and gave something new a chance.

Jake Faigus – McKale Center

For me, the best stadium in Tucson is McKale Center. The main reason I notice this stadium is the historical significance of the building. Lute Olson built a team in this stadium and Sean Miller has continued to dominate this building. He helped build a 71-game winning streak in that building, and since Olson’s been there, the building has grown to be one of the best home arenas in all of college basketball. Arizona fans have continued to show up and be in attendance no matter who the coach is. Personally, I was in the building for the first time as a fan in 2018. Though I don’t remember the team they played against, I do remember that the team wasn’t nearly as good as them and the fans still showed up and was as loud as it would have been if the team took under the top 10 would have come – and they were facing a team that was in the top 10. The best thing about McKale will always be the fans because they are the best fans in all college basketball, and they are incredibly basketball savvy too.

Seth Litwin – Arizona Stadium

Outside, the Arizona Stadium looks like a concrete jungle. Once inside, it exudes the charm of an old school stadium, perfect for watching a game. The stadium is easy to find and each section is well marked. The new renovations make it easier to obtain concessions and make the stadium look more modern inside without detracting from the feel of an older stadium. The stadium is a sea of ​​blue and red on game day and you can’t walk 10 feet without hearing someone yell “Bear!” Whether you are sitting in the ZonaZoo or having a nosebleed, there is no bad place in the house.

CJ Lala – McKale Center

In my three years here at the University of Arizona, I attended many soccer, basketball, and baseball games for school. Arizona has many great facilities, but they can’t be compared to McKale Center. The atmosphere is second to none when filled with Arizona’s fans. My favorite memory of the building isn’t the celebrity basketball program in Arizona, but the volleyball team. I treated her in the 2019-20 season. They held their annual Dig Pink Game in honor of breast cancer awareness, which saw the Wildcats wear pink jerseys and the team also invited some of the local club volleyball teams to the game. They had sold out all of the available seats. Unfortunately they lost 3-1 against No. 20 Utah. But the fans were dedicated to the end, giving the team the competitive edge that Arizona’s fans always create.

Bryan Savic – McKale Center

I remember being outside with a colleague from KAMP Radio. We really wanted to get in and assemble all of our devices. It was a huge match in the Oregon-Arizona PAC-12 game. The anticipation killed us as we waited for the check-in counter and security to finally let us in. After getting approval, we both ran to the media area to put everything together as we only had 30 minutes before the game started. It was my first time making play-by-play announcements for KAMP. My colleague and I turned our heads and looked at each other, knowing this was going to be a major game. A game we would never forget.

The arena has of course made the game more important. The McKale Center was electric that day, as is always the case with any men’s basketball game. Its immaculate beauty, coupled with the roar of the Tucsonans in the crowd, was poetic. You could feel their passionate screams vibrate your seats and the entire arena. It was unlike any college sports atmosphere I’ve ever been in. I’ll be on everyone’s lips and say that McKale is the college basketball equivalent of Anfield in Liverpool in terms of crowd noise. Certainly a hot attitude, but an attitude that I still hold on to. The crowd for that game against Oregon got so loud that I was worried they might cause a seismic earthquake.

The result of the game ended in Oregon and secured a hard-fought win in overtime with a final score of 73-72. Oregon’s Payton Pritchard started this game with an impressive 38 points, six rebounds and four assists. It was surreal to see him basking in the roar of the boos of the Arizona believers. I can say that he took great pleasure in sinking Arizona one more time, especially at McKale. Still, it was a great game as it was my first time really being exposed to McKale’s magic. An amazing and fun atmosphere that is second to none. When I took the first step into the arena, I knew immediately that I was stepping on holy ground.

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