Within the past 40 years, the Valley has transformed from a desert with no professional sports teams to celebrate to an oasis of sporting venues and teams…and host to the 2008 Super Bowl! Arizona State University also brings exceptional, competitive college sports to the area. The NBA’s Phoenix Suns were the Valley’s first major professional sports team. Today, this fast-paced and up-tempo team is led by Steve Nash (2004-2005 NBA Most Valuable Player) and a young group of players that are perennial playoff contenders, including Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion.   www.nba.com/suns In 1988, the Arizona Cardinals arrived in the Phoenix area. Since their arrival, they have been playing at Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Stadium. This past season marked the team’s first year in their own home in Glendale, a $355 million architectural wonder with a retractable roof and roll-out field. This exceptional venue has helped the Valley secure the 2008 Super Bowl.   www.azcardinals.com The Phoenix Coyotes brought ice hockey to the desert in 1996. This cool team won their first home game and earned a playoff berth during their inaugural year in town. In 2003, this team also received a phenomenal brand new home…Glendale Arena, next to the Cardinals stadium.   www.phoenixcoyotes.com Phoenix’s sunny weather has made the city a mecca for spring training baseball for decades. The Cactus League now boasts of 12 teams that call Arizona home during the spring. And, true to form, the first professional franchise in the state, the Arizona Diamondbacks, won a World Series title in only their 4th season…the fastest rise in league history. They earned this world championship by defeating the mighty New York Yankees in a battle that is arguably considered the best World Series of all time by many pundits.   www.azdiamondbacks.com   www.cactusleague.com Arena football, aptly dubbed the “50 yard war,” is a game with a shorter field, smaller uprights and fewer players than the more established NFL. The fairly new sport has survived for nearly 20 years now, and has 17 teams. The Arizona Rattlers have been one of the most successful. They have played in 5 Arena Bowls, winning the title twice. In addition, they are the only team to sell out every game of the season.   www.azrattlers.com The Phoenix Mercury is one of 8 charter members of the Women’s National Basketball Association. The team is one of the league’s steadiest, most consistent franchises, helping the league grow to 14 teams.   www.wnba.com/mercury Fifty years ago, the Valley’s first sports franchise was established…with four legged athletes! The barren desert at Bell Rd. and 19th Ave. was transformed into Turf Paradise, and remains one of the premier sporting destinations in the Southwest with about 3,000 visitors per day during the season.   www.turfparadise.com Phoenix International Raceway was carved out of the Estrella Mountains in 1964 with a one-mile paved oval with a unique bend in the backstretch. Auto racing accelerated into over-drive in 1988 with the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series arriving at the raceway. Since then, the PIR has been a major destination for the world’s top drivers.   www.phoenixintlraceway.com