Phoenix is nuts for pro sports and is one of the few cities in the country with teams for all four of the major sports (baseball, basketball, football, and hockey). Add to this baseball's spring training, professional women's basketball, golf and tennis tournaments, the annual Fiesta Bowl college football classic, and ASU football, basketball, and baseball, and you have enough action to keep even the most rabid sports fans happy. The all-around best month to visit is March, when you could feasibly catch baseball's spring training, the Suns, the Coyotes, and ASU basketball and baseball, as well as the Safeway International LPGA Tournament.

Call Ticketmaster (tel. 480/784-4444) for tickets to most of the events below. For sold-out events, try Tickets Unlimited (tel. 800/289-8497 or 602/840-2340) or Ticket Exchange (tel. 800/800-9811; or visit their website).

Auto Racing

At the Phoenix International Raceway, 7602 S. Avondale Blvd. at Baseline Road, Avondale (tel. 602/252-2227), there's NASCAR and IndyCar racing on the world's fastest 1-mile oval. Tickets generally range from around $10 to $100.

Baseball

Although the Arizona Diamondbacks (tel. 888/777-4664 or 602/514-8400) haven't put in as impressive a showing in the years since they won the 2001 World Series, they still have a devoted fan base and regularly pack downtown Phoenix's impressive Chase Field. The ballpark's retractable roof allows for comfortable play during the blistering summers and makes this one of only a few enclosed baseball stadiums with natural grass. Tickets to ballgames are available through the Chase Field ticket office and cost between $5 and $185. The best seats are in sections J and Q. If you'd like to get a behind-the-scenes look at Chase Field, you can take a guided tour. Tours cost $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and children ages 7 to 12, and $2 for children ages 4 to 6.

For decades, baseball's spring-training season has been immensely popular, especially with fans from northern teams, and don't think that the Cactus League's preseason exhibition games are any less popular just because the Diamondbacks play all summer. Spring-training games may rank second only to golf in popularity with winter visitors to the Valley. Nine major-league baseball teams have spring-training camps around the Valley in the month of March, and exhibition games are scheduled at seven different stadiums. Tickets cost $5 to $24. Get a schedule from a visitor center, check the Arizona Republic while you're in town, check the website of the Cactus League. Games often sell out, especially on weekends, so be sure to order tickets in advance. The spring-training schedule for 2008 should be out by November 2007.

Teams training in the Valley include the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Tempe Diablo Stadium, 2200 W. Alameda Dr. (48th St. and Broadway Rd.), Tempe (tel. 480/350-5205 or 480/784-4444 for tickets); the Chicago Cubs, HoHoKam Park, 1235 N. Center St., Mesa (tel. 800/905-3315 for tickets or 480/964-4467); the Kansas City Royals, Surprise Stadium, 15754 N. Bullard Ave., Surprise (tel. 623/594-5600 or 480/784-4444 for tickets); the Milwaukee Brewers, Maryvale Baseball Park, 3600 N. 51st Ave., Phoenix (tel. 623/245-5500); the Oakland Athletics, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 5999 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix (tel. 602/392-0217 or 877/493-BALL for tickets); the San Diego Padres, Peoria Sports Complex, 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria (tel. 800/409-1511, 623/878-4337, or 480/784-4444 for tickets); the San Francisco Giants, Scottsdale Stadium, 7408 E. Osborn Rd., Scottsdale (tel. 480/312-2586 or 800/225-2277 for tickets); the Seattle Mariners, Peoria Sports Complex, 16101 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria (tel. 800/409-1511, 623/878-4337, or 480/784-4444 for tickets); and the Texas Rangers, Surprise Stadium, 15850 N. Bullard Ave., Surprise (tel. 623/594-5600 or 480/784-4444 for tickets).

Basketball

The NBA's Phoenix Suns play at the US Airways Center, 201 E. Jefferson St. (tel. 800/4-NBA-TIX or 602/379-SUNS). Most tickets cost between $10 and $200. Suns tickets are hard to come by; if you haven't planned ahead, try contacting the box office the day before or the day of a game to see if tickets have been returned. Otherwise, you'll have to try a ticket agency and pay a premium.

Phoenix also has a WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury (tel. 602/252-9622 or 602/514-8333), which plays at the US Airways Center between late May and mid-August. Tickets cost $10 to $146.

Football

The Arizona Cardinals (tel. 800/999-1402 or 602/379-0102) play at the $450-million state-of-the-art University of Phoenix Stadium in the west valley city of Glendale. This stadium has a retractable roof made of translucent fabric that lets lots of light in when the roof is closed. However, the stadium's most distinctive feature is its moveable playing field, which is rolled out into the sun outside the stadium until a game is scheduled. This 2-acre, grass-covered tray is the first of its kind in North America. Most tickets cost $15 to $67, and single-game tickets for the entire season go on sale around mid-July. Of course, if you're a football fan, you know that the 2008 Superbowl is being played here.

Golf Tournament

It's not surprising that, with more than 200 golf courses and ideal golfing weather throughout the fall, winter, and spring, the Valley of the Sun hosts some major golf tournaments. Late January's FBR Open Golf Tournament (tel. 602/870-0163) is by far the biggest. Held at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) of Scottsdale, it attracts more spectators than any other golf tournament in the world (more than 500,000 each year). The 18th hole has standing room for 40,000. Tickets start at $25 and are available through Ticketmaster .

Each March, the Safeway International LPGA Tournament (tel. 877/983-3300 or 602/495-4653), held at the Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club, 800 E. Club Village Dr., lures nearly 100 of the top women golfers from around the world. Daily tickets are $20; weekly tickets are $50.

Hockey

Ice hockey in the desert? It may not make sense, but even Phoenicians are crazy about ice hockey (maybe it's all those northern transplants). In fact, the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes (tel. 480/563-PUCK) have a state-of-the-art arena in Glendale (northwest of downtown Phoenix). Tickets cost $15 to $300.

Horse/Greyhound Racing

Turf Paradise, 1501 W. Bell Rd. (tel. 602/942-1101), is Phoenix's horse-racing track. The season runs from early October to early May. Admission ranges from free to $5.

The Phoenix Greyhound Park, 3801 E. Washington St. (tel. 602/273-7181), is a fully enclosed, air-conditioned facility offering seating in various grandstands, lounges, and restaurants. There's racing throughout the year; tickets are free to $3.

Rodeos, Polo & Horse Shows

Cowboys, cowgirls, and other horsey types will find plenty of the four-legged critters going through their paces most weeks at WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Rd., Scottsdale (tel. 480/312-6802). With its hundreds of stables, numerous equestrian arenas, and a polo field, this complex provides an amazing variety of entertainment and sporting events. There are rodeos, polo matches, horse shows, horseback rides, and horseback-riding instruction.