D-backs Announce 36-game 2016 Spring Training Schedule

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced their 36-game Spring Training schedule, which features 19 home games and three road games at the award-winning Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and two exhibition games at Chase Field. This season will mark the sixth year at the shared Spring Training facility with the Colorado Rockies on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land near Scottsdale.

The D-backs open their 19th Spring Training on March 1 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick with an exhibition game against the University of Arizona at 3:10 p.m. as part of an annual Collegiate Series. In the first year of the collegiate series in 2015, the D-backs played Arizona State University and will continue to rotate opponents between Arizona's three Division I NCAA baseball programs - ASU, University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University (GCU) each year for the next five years.

"We are excited to kick off our 2016 Spring Training schedule against my alma mater the University of Arizona Wildcats," said D-backs Manager Chip Hale. "It will be a great way to start our quest for a championship."

The D-backs officially open Cactus League play on March 2 with the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields. The D-backs have 14 games against their National League West rivals with five games against the Colorado Rockies, four against the San Francisco Giants, and a pair of games versus the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. The D-backs will play three evening games at Salt River Fields, including matchups on March 16 vs. Cincinnati Reds, March 21 vs. Milwaukee Brewers, and March 22 vs. Giants. The D-backs will wrap up Spring Training with a two-game set against the Kansas City Royals on April 1 and 2 at Chase Field.

Tickets for all games at Salt River Fields, including the D-backs vs. University of Arizona game, are priced from $11-$37. General admission lawn seating that will hold 4,000 people will be $11-$15 and tickets for 7,000 reserved seats in the seating bowl range from $21-$37. The D-backs Plan offers tickets for each of their 17 home games at Salt River Fields that range in price from $187-$544. The two exhibition games held at Chase Field are not included in the Spring Training season ticket package but are available in the D-backs' regular season ticket packages.

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community members and D-backs and Rockies season-ticket holders may purchase season-ticket plans for Spring Training games at Salt River Fields exclusively, between Dec. 16-18. Season-ticket plans for the D-backs' 17 home games and all 33 Spring Training games at Salt River Fields featuring the D-backs and Rockies, including the D-backs vs. University of Arizona game, will go on sale to the public beginning Dec. 18.

Individual game tickets for all 33 games at Salt River Fields will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. on Jan. 9. Tickets can be purchased in person at the D-backs Ticket Office at Chase Field, at dbacks.com/spring or by calling 888.490.0383 or 480.362.WINS (9467). Individual tickets for the two exhibition games at Chase Field will go on sale at a later date.

Salt River Fields is the first Spring Training facility built on Native American land. Owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the 140-acre site near the Pima-Loop 101 Freeway and Talking Stick Way consists of separate training facilities and clubhouses accommodating each team as well as an 11,000-seat ballpark featuring a uniquely designed roof structure offering fans in the cross aisle plenty of shade. Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is one of four entertainment venues carrying the "Talking Stick" brand along with Talking Stick Golf Club, Talking Stick Resort and The Pavilions at Talking Stick.

Following the 2011 season, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick received the Ballpark of the Year Award from Ballparkdigest.com, Baseballparks.com and Digital Ballparks and was named Project of the Year by ENR Southwest. In addition, the New Times of Phoenix named Salt River Fields the "Best Place to Watch a Spring Training Game" and the complex became the first Spring Training facility to receive a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program.

The facility has been named Best Spring Training Field by Arizona Foothills Magazine for three consecutive years (2013-2015) and in 2014 Stadium Journey named Salt River Fields both the Best Cactus League Ballpark and Top Stadium Experiences of the Year. USA Today awarded Scottsdale the Best Spring Training City (2014) and in 2015 TripAdvisor gave the complex a Certificate of Excellence.