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Surprise is the place to be... Whether it's a hike in nearby White Tank Mountain Regional Park, a bike ride on the Sun Valley Parkway, fishing or instructional league baseball at the Surprise Recreation Campus, or a round of golf on one of the City's 8 public courses, Surprise serves up a smorgasbord of recreation opportunities.
The Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers decided to take up residence here. The once-sleepy square mile farming community surprised just about everyone in 2001 when it successfully courted the two teams away from their Florida training homes, and snagged more than $32 million in funding from the Maricopa County Tourism and Sports Authority.
The $37 million Cactus League Spring Training facility and stadium was completed in 2002, along with a regional library, aquatic center, recreation center, and passive park – the first installments on a square-mile-plus downtown development dubbed Surprise Center. A joint venture with Carefree Partners (a division of Valley shopping center developer Westcor) it will feature government offices, shops, upscale restaurants and entertainment venues. Despite its rapid growth, Surprise property tax rate ranks among the lowest in the state of Arizona.
Projections state that Surprise’s population could hit 300,000 by 2020. |
