For many of us in the Valley, the Surprise Recreation Campus seems to be somewhere near San Diego. That long drive, though, ends at one of the best baseball facilities you can imagine.

It's called a Recreation Campus, as opposed to a Sports Complex, on purpose. Carved out of what many of us consider the official Middle of Nowhere, there are the usual amenities you would expect at a new Major League Baseball facility. And if you've never seen a game at the Stadium, you should. It's a great place to watch Spring Training.

What makes Surprise different, though, is community commitment. It's not just lip service, this Recreation Campus.

West of the Stadium is a trio of youth fields. They have permanent mounds, age-appropriate fences and an open, spacious feel. Not to mention manicured infields that get the same care and attention as the MLB fields surrounding them.

All those folks who have turned Little League fields into baseball's imitation of a cage-fighting arena should take notice. There aren't a kazillion yards of barriers between players and fans. The Ripken state tournament, for instance, felt like a youth-sports event, not a martial-arts exhibition. Kids could even smile at their parents without chunks of chain-link in the way.

Surprise doesn't surprise those of us who have been there before. The drive isn't any shorter, but the Campus is the centerpiece of the town's growing youth-sports community and is, quite simply, one of the prettiest places in the Valley. Those who have it in their back yard are lucky.

And closer to San Diego.