SURPRISE, AZ — A major baseball tournament is wrapping up in the West Valley this weekend.
“Oh, I think it’s a home run for the city of Surprise. Looks like the fan base has been turning out, the crowds have been wonderful,” said Dave Lindsley, the owner and chef at Bonfire Craft Kitchen and Tap House.
For the first time ever, the Big 12 conference hosted its 2026 baseball tournament in Surprise at Surprise Stadium, the same field used by the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers for spring training.
All week, 12 teams faced each other in single-elimination games over five days, and fans have been loving it.
“It’s great. It’s great to have it here in the community,” said Colby Voorhees, a Surprise resident.
“When they said that they were going to bring this here, I immediately knew that it was going to be a great benefit for the city,” said Alex Christ, a Surprise resident and social media influencer.
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The tournament is also boosting Surprise’s economy. The city estimated around 40,000 people would be here for the Big 12 games, with a potential economic impact of about $3.5 million.
“This weekend is normally a slower weekend for the holidays when people are trying to get out of town, get out of the heat, so the baseball tournament has been wonderful to bring more people to Surprise, bring more exposure to our restaurant,” said Lindsley.
The championship game on Saturday brought out Kansas Jayhawks fans against West Virginia. It could not get any sunnier for everyone.
“We are… when we left, we were in the mid-60s, so quite a bit chillier than this,” said Steven Howley, who was visiting from Kansas with his wife Amy.
