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Francisco Grande Resort & Golf Club26000 W Gila Bend HwyCasa Grande, AZ 85222 Phone: (520)836-6444Fax: (520)421-0544 This course was originally developed by Horace Stoneham, the owner of the San Francisco Giants, as the spring training headquarters for his baseball team in the early 1960s. "Francisco" was taken from the San "Francisco" Giants, and "Grande" was from Casa "Grande." Thus the name Francisco Grande. Great players such as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry and others trained and played some of their spring games in a stadium built at the Grande. It was also a vacation getaway for such well-known celebrities as John Wayne, Pat Boone, Dale Robertson, and Gale Gordon. During your visit, please take the time to notice some fun architectural facts concerning the resort: the famous swimming pool is in the shape of a baseball bat, the wading pool, a baseball; the parking area in front of the hotel tower is in the shape of a baseball diamond, the flower beds were constructed to resemble bats or balls; the overhang on the north side of the tower was built to resemble the brim of a baseball cap; the stairwells on the south side of the building were built to resemble those in a stadium at the time of construction. From the penthouse overlook area, you will notice the observation tower, a round two-story building to the north, which was used by coaches and press to observe the players during practice. You may still be able to notice the four baseball diamonds that surrounded the observation tower. Also, visit their lounge, which has numerous photos of the Giants during the early 1960s and 70s. After the Giants were enticed to move to Scottsdale, the California Angels used the facility from 1979 until 1982. The next two years saw the transformation of baseball fields into football fields, which were used as training headquarters for the USFL's Arizona Wranglers in '82 and Denver Golds in '84. Guestrooms as well as meeting space and public areas have been recently renovated, and numerous amenities and services have been added. Major improvements to the golf course have been made with the installation of a new irrigation pumping station providing significantly improved turf. Be sure to test your skills on championship golf course, which is the longest in Arizona. The traditional layout features wide, tree-lined fairways, three lakes, and greens that are among the finest in the Southwest.
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