Best Urban Park 2024 | Margaret T. Hance Park | Fun & Games | Phoenix
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Best Urban Park

Margaret T. Hance Park

Smack dab in the center of Phoenix, Margaret T. Hance Park is undoubtedly the top spot to spend a day off. With plenty of well-manicured grass, a playground for the kids, green enclosures for small and large dogs, ramada space and a garden space, there's something for everyone at the park named after Phoenix's mayor from 1976 to 1984. At the edge of the park is the beautiful Japanese Friendship Garden, created in tandem with Phoenix Sister City Himeji, Japan. Hance Park is also a short walk from restaurants and bars on Roosevelt Row, making it an oasis on the edge of downtown. It's one of the few places in central Phoenix where foot traffic is given the upper hand over automobiles, which travel through the I-10 tunnel below the park.

Best Slip and Fall

WM Phoenix Open

The amusing part about the Phoenix Open used to be that the premier PGA event was sponsored by a trash company best known for early-morning wake-ups by massive trucks lumbering through your neighborhood leaking a trail of disgusting garbage juice, an ironic twist for a pompous golf event held in Scottsdale that pro golfers already disdained thanks to the raucous 16th hole. Though the name was later shortened so people would forget it's still the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the event gained new infamy in 2024. Drunken frat bros and their lady friends made a national mockery of it thanks to a mixture of heavy downpours, lax security and alcohol — so much alcohol. The "People's Open," as it's often called, was a flop. Fights, arrests and slip-and-falls down muddy hills went viral thanks to social media. More than 200 people were arrested, and dozens more were tossed for trespassing. Organizers pledged big changes to tame the chaos in 2025 and protect the $17.5 million the event raised for charity this year.

Best Male Athlete

Zac Gallen

Apologies to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, but Gallen has been a model of consistent excellence ever since the right-handed starting pitcher joined the Diamondbacks in 2019. He's finished ninth, fifth and third in the voting for the Cy Young Award, the top pitching honor in the National League. He's an ace whose starts are appointment viewing — he could throw a no-hitter on any given night. He's as much a tactician as he is a magician on the mound, making hitters look foolish with an arsenal of devilish pitches he deploys with precision. He helped lead the Diamondbacks to the World Series in 2023 and is crucial to their hopes to reach the postseason again this year. It's hard to imagine Arizona being competitive without him.

Best Female Athlete

Brittney Griner

Diana Taurasi is the legend, and Kahleah Copper is probably the Mercury's best current player. But the 6-foot-9 Griner remains a unique force in women's basketball, and her continued WNBA success this year is all the more impressive given what she's been through. In February 2022, she was arrested in Russia for having a small amount of hash oil in her luggage. That led to a 10-month imprisonment that ended only when the United States agreed to exchange a Russian prisoner in a deal to free her. Back in the U.S., Griner returned to the court and, while she's not been quite as dominant as before, she's made all-star teams in each of the last two seasons.

Best Little Sports Team That Could

Phoenix Rising

Maybe it was opening their own stadium. Or the return of dollar beer nights. Or a roster overhaul. Whatever the reason, Phoenix Rising FC rose to the occasion and brought home a championship trophy. And for that, they've earned a special spot in the hearts of sports fans across metro Phoenix. The championship run last year had its fits and starts — and near collapses. But the team that entered the playoffs in sixth place never gave up, winning the club's first title in a penalty kick shootout. The Rising lost their head coach and most players from the championship roster, leading to a tough season this year. (They've already fired the replacement coach.) But the game-day experience keeps the fans coming back, thanks to a busy schedule of theme nights, food trucks and fun.

Best Use of a Singlet

Richard Figueroa

The 125-pound mass of college wrestling muscle won ASU's first individual national championship in five years and the 11th individual title in team history in March. It came after a stellar season that earned him 2024 Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year honors. The redshirt junior from California is quickly becoming a wrestling legend for his work on the mat. Watching this fierce competitor take down opponent after opponent is made better when he flexes those biceps in victory. Nabbing the national championship brought more honors for him, including Tempe Mayor Corey Woods declaring that March 23, 2024, would be known as Richard Figueroa Day and getting to throw the first pitch on ASU Night at an Arizona Diamondbacks game in August. Even better is that he returns to the mat when wrestling season opens in November to defend his championship.

Best Place to Watch a Spring Training Game

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick

Sloan Park, the spring home of the Chicago Cubs, is the newest stadium in the Valley's baseball landscape. It's certainly a top-notch facility, but when it comes to the best in Arizona, the 13-year-old Salt River Fields continues to hit home runs. Located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and home to the Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies, the stadium remains in terrific shape. There are great food options, a unique collection of cactuses on the batter's eye in center field and, from certain angles, a wonderful view of Camelback Mountain. While the Mesa-set Sloan Park tends to get overcrowded with fans, Salt River Fields never feels too full. Pick any seat for a terrific view of the action, or relax with a picnic blanket on the outfield lawn. There's also easy access to the backfields, should you want to watch the Rockies or Diamondbacks train before a game.

  • 7555 N. Pima Rd., Scottsdale, 85258 Map

Best Secret Spot at Footprint Center

Hideaway Lounge

Ask any staff member at Footprint Center where Hideaway Lounge is, and they probably won't know. But it's on suite level B, between the 100 and 200 levels. You can take the elevator or escalator, and anyone with a ticket to the game can hang out in the lounge and watch the game from there. It's standing room only for anyone who doesn't have a seat ticket for the lounge, but the view is still a lot better than from the nosebleed seats. (Note: Security will not allow you to stand in front of people who are sitting down, thus blocking their view and the walkway.) The lines for the bars are a lot shorter than on the concourses, too.

Best Disappearing Act

Arizona Coyotes

In April, the Coyotes released mockups of a new arena they hoped to build in Phoenix. Within days, news leaked that the team was moving to Salt Lake City. After years of unsuccessfully looking for someone to build them a new facility — and after one season playing in the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena at Arizona State University — the team's 27-year history in the Valley was over. The news broke with just one home game left on the schedule, turning the team's season finale into a wake. Then, in a flash of smoke, the team was gone. A disappearing act needs a good reappearance to complete the trick, but a half-hearted attempt to revive the Coyotes by owner Alex Meruelo failed in June when a land deal in Phoenix fell through.

Best Eulogy

Todd Walsh

With about a week's notice, Todd Walsh had to summarize the nearly three-decade existence of a beloved Arizona sports franchise and the last 27 years of his own sports broadcasting career. The Arizona Coyotes had just wrapped up their final game of the season. Days earlier, they'd announced the team would move to Salt Lake City. Walsh had covered the team on the air since it came to the Valley in 1996, and over five poignant minutes on the postgame show, he bid an emotional and professional farewell to a franchise that was leaving a dedicated fanbase, a local media contingent and him behind. "Hockey gave me a personal and professional purpose," Walsh said, sharing how the game and its people buoyed him after the death of each of his parents. With admirable poise and without a single verbal pause, Walsh helped fans through their grief just like hockey had helped him through his. "A good story lasts forever," he told them. "However, sometimes the ending just isn't what you want it to be."

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