Phoenix Sports
Phoenix is home to several major league, professional sports. The Arizona Diamondbacks play at Chase Field in the National League - West Division of Major League Baseball. In 2001, the Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees 4 games to 3 in the World Series, becoming the city's first professional sports franchise to win a national championship.
In addition, nine Major League Baseball teams conduct spring training in the area. These teams, plus three that train in Tucson, are collectively known as the Cactus League.
The Arizona Cardinals currently play in the NFL's National Football Conference - West Division. They currently play at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, and are currently building a stadium in Glendale. The Arizona Rattlers are an arena football team that play in the Arena Football League. Phoenix will host the Super Bowl in 2008.
The Phoenix Suns are a professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball Association. The Phoenix Mercury are a professional women's basketball team in the WNBA. Both teams play at America West Arena.
Glendale Arena is the home of the Phoenix Coyotes, a professional ice hockey team of the National Hockey League. The Phoenix Roadrunners are also a minor league ice hockey team that plays in the East Coast Hockey League.
The Arizona Sting are a professional lacrosse team from Glendale that play in the National Lacrosse League.
The Phoenix International Raceway is a major venue for Indy Car Racing and NASCAR auto racing. Boat racing, drag racing, and road course racing are also held at the Firebird International Raceway.Sprint car racing is held at Manzanita Speedway.
The Arizona State University Sun Devils compete in football, basketball, baseball, as well as a number of other sports in the NCAA. The Sun Devils football team plays their games at Sun Devil Stadium, which also hosts the annual Fiesta Bowl (the game will move to the new Cardinals stadium in Glendale upon the completion of the stadium). Their nearest rival is the University of Arizona Wildcats, in Tucson.
Other major sporting events in the area include the Insight Bowl at Chase Field (will move to Sun Devil Stadium after the Fiesta Bowl moves to the new stadium in Glendale), and several major professional golf events, including the FBR Open of the PGA TOUR, the Standard Register Turquoise Classic of the LPGA, and The Tradition of the PGA Champions Tour.