Francisco Grande is a hotel and

golf resort A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to stay ...

located in Casa Grande, Arizona, approximately 46 miles south east of

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

History

In 1959 the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

' owner

Horace Stoneham Horace Charles Stoneham ( ; April 27, 1903 – January 7, 1990) was an American Major League Baseball executive and the owner of the New York / San Francisco Giants from 1936 to 1976. Inheriting the Giants, then one of the most prominent franch ...

developed the property as a spring training camp for his popular Major League Baseball team. The name of the property was taken from the San "Francisco" Giants and Casa "Grande". During its early years, the hotel was popular with celebrities like John Wayne and

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

. Guests are able to stay in their eponymously titled suites. After the Giants moved to the original

Scottsdale Stadium Scottsdale Stadium is a ballpark located in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Designed by the owner of the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards, the stadium was expanded to its current state in 1992 and holds 12,000 people. It has been the spring ...

, the California Angels used the facility from 1982 until 1984. The next two years saw the transformation of the baseball fields into football fields, which were used as the training camp headquarters for the USFL's Arizona Wranglers and the

Denver Gold The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional football league in the United States, playing a springtime season, from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played their home games at Mi ...

. From 1984 to 2002, the Francisco Grande operated as a destination golf resort. The course was 5,224 yards from the front tees and a long 7,545 yards from the championship tees. In 2003, the resort was closed for

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

s which cost approximately $8.5 million. It reopened in 2005.

Facilities

There are two restaurants within the hotel – Duke's and Legends. Duke's is named after John Wayne and Legends specializes in

Southwestern cuisine The cuisine of the Southwestern United States is food styled after the rustic cooking of the Southwestern United States. It comprises a fusion of recipes for things that might have been eaten by Spanish colonial settlers, cowboys, Native Ame ...

External links

Francisco Grande Hotel and Golf Resort

History of Francisco Grande (Video)

Luxe Hotels Press Release about Francisco Grande

PGA Article about Francisco Grande reopening
Hotel buildings completed in 1959 Hotels in Arizona Resorts in the United States Buildings and structures in Casa Grande, Arizona Hotels established in 1959