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Arizona Cardinals: Top five advantages to having camp in Glendale

By Scott Allen

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The Arizona Cardinals moved their training camp headquarters a little closer to home back in 2013

I wasn’t too excited about the idea of the Arizona Cardinals moving their training camp from Flagstaff to Glendale a couple of years ago.  They will be commencing their third camp in Glendale in 17 days after spending their first 25 seasons in Flagstaff.

I will admit, I do have a little bias towards Flagstaff since I worked for the Cardinals for two seasons at their camp up in the cool pines.  I will say though I haven’t hated having camp down at University of Phoenix Stadium either.

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Having camp in Glendale at the stadium does have its advantages over Flagstaff, which did provide many amenities in itself.  Here are the top five things advantages to having camp in Glendale over Flagstaff.

5. Save money

We all like to save money, right?  Don’t get me wrong, I loved getting away from the heat for a day or two as a fan and getting up to the cooler weather.  I got to do it for the entire camp when I worked for the Cardinals.  However, spending a night or two in the summer in Flagstaff is an expensive proposition.

You can pay $150, $200 or more per night depending on where you stay.  That’s just for the hotel.  Then you have to buy gas and go out to eat at restaurants.  It’s not a cheap outing for a lot of people.

4. Team Shop

Sure you could find souvenirs in makeshift trailers and vendors in Flagstaff at camp.  You had to wiggle your way through high volume crowds though and not everything you could possibly want was available.  Now, when you go to University of Phoenix Stadium, you have the opportunity to go to the team shop, AZone, and find many more items.

Having camp in Glendale gives you the opportunity to get the Cardinals gear you want before the season starts.  It is also likely to be less crowded than it will on gameday in the preseason and regular season.

3. Seating

While I love my camping chairs and going to the outdoors, it can be a pain to drag those around, especially if you are going to Flagstaff and planning to stay overnight.  You need room for luggage too.  At University of Phoenix Stadium, the lower levels are open seating and obviously the seats are already there.

2. Better organization

So the seating in the stadium leads to better organization.  Not only is the seating arrangement more organized but camp overall is as well.  It was first come first serve for spots to spread you and your family out in Flagstaff.  It made it difficult to see what was going on all over the field at times.  Now you pick your seat and you can see the entire field.

The parking is an actual lot, so that is better.  In Flagstaff at Northern Arizona University, there were lots but there were also a lot of people just parking on sides of roads and creating their own parking, some getting away with parking where they shouldn’t be.  That won’t happen at University of Phoenix Stadium.  They have personnel to tell you were to park.

1. Closer to home

There was nothing I hated more than having the drive home from Flagstaff to look forward to.  There were times I went up for just the day and then having to drive back after a long day in the sun was not optimal.  Now I am 20-30 minutes away from the Stadium.  The camp takes place in the early to mid-afternoon, so you avoid heavy traffic most days.  It also allows me to attend multiple days if I want.  Going to Flagstaff was a one or two day adventure.  Theoretically having camp here gives one the opportunity to go everyday of camp.

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