The Surprise Sundancers, founded in 2002, is the official Spring Training volunteer organization of the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, and the City of Surprise. The Sundancers are a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that currently consists of over 750 members! The Sundancers provide volunteer services at the Surprise Recreation Campus and other City Special Events. As a non-profit volunteer organization, the Surprise Sundancers raise charitable donations and receive contributions to support greater Surprise/Northwest Valley youth-related programs and projects, including the award-winning Dream Catcher Park.
2025 Surprise Sundancers Scholarships Announced
April 3, 2025 - The Surprise Sundancer's Board of Directors announced today that they have awarded $107,500 in scholarships to 37 college students from the Surprise area. The individual scholarship recipients are being notified of their scholarships and award amounts by the Arizona Community Foundation.
This year, there were 20 first-time scholarships awarded, with two top-rated students receiving the prestigious Mark Coronado Scholarships valued at $10,000 each. These $10,000 one-time scholarships were highest amount awarded through the Mark Coronado scholarships since this top-tier scholarship was endowed in 2018. In 2019, the Surprise Sundancer’s Board of Directors voted to continue offering the Mark Coronado Scholarship designation for future top-tier, first-year scholarship recipients. Mark Coronado (1958-2017) served as Director of Community & Recreation Services Department along with other responsibilities for the City of Surprise and was known as an ambitious, gifted leader who tirelessly worked to improve the quality of life for all families in the West Valley.
A total of 4 recipients were awarded the Tier 1 Scholarships with a value of $5,000 each, and 14 were awarded the Tier 2 Scholarships with a value of $3,000 each. In addition, 17 returning recipients received an additional one-year scholarship valued at $1,500 each.
Sundancers Board members Bill Adams, Herman Orcutt, Bill Pupo and Randy Jackson welcome fans to charity game.
All scholarship applications were reviewed by a subcommittee comprised of selected Sundancer Board Members and several outside evaluators. Eligibility and scoring was determined based on each applicant’s answers to several questions and the essays they submitted on the General Application form. The scholarship application process is managed by the Arizona Community Foundation which manages more than 120 scholarship funds for organizations throughout Arizona, each with its own individual eligibility and criteria.
Thank you to those who purchased 50/50 raffle tickets to help make these scholarships possible and to all of this year’s scholarship recipients!
Scholarship Applications Are Closed for the 2025 Season
March 1, 2025 - The Surprise Sundancers have announced that the scholarship application process for the 2025 season is now closed.
Submitted applications that have been made to ACF will now be evaluated by a group of independent evaluators, who will score the applications based on blind rankings based on criteria provided by ACF. The evaluations will be forwarded to the Sundancers Board of Directors to award the 2025 scholarships during a meeting later this month.
Sundancers Board members Bill Adams, Herman Orcutt, Bill Pupo and Randy Jackson welcome fans to 2025 charity game.
Starting in 2012, the Sundancers provided 681 scholarships to new and returning scholars, a value of $1.493 million. Proceeds from the annual Sundancers charity game, proceeds from the 50/50 daily game raffle, and other donations are used to fund the scholarships each year. Surprise Sundancers have given out over $2.011 million in donations in the form of scholarships and other donations to organizations that provide services to the youth of the West Valley.
Scholarship recipients will be informed of their awards by the Arizona Community Foundation when the awards are granted later this month.
2025 Charity Game
Sundancers Board members Bill Adams, Herman Orcutt, Bill Pupo and Randy Jackson welcome fans to charity game.
The annual Surprise Sundancers Charity game was held on February 25, 2025. The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals designate one game each season for all proceeds from tickets, concessions and merchandise to be donated to the Surprise Sundancers. This years attendance was 3,979. The Sundancers use funds raised through the season to provide scholarships to local youth from areas around Surprise Stadium.
Additional funds from the daily 50/50 Raffle also go to the Sundancers scholarship fund. The charity game raffle total was $1,720 going to the winner of the raffle and an equal amount going to the Sundancers.
The 2025 Season Scholarship Site is Now Open
The Arizona Community Foundation site for Surprise Sundancers scholarships is now open.
If you know of any deserving youth from the Surprise area, you can apply for a scholarship at:
https://www.azfoundation.org/Scholarships
Click on "Begin Your Application"
The scholarship applications will close on March 1, 2025. Scholarship awards will be presented during the 2025 season on a date to be announced later. Scholarship applicants can also work with their school counselors for assistance in filling out the application.
With our charter to raise funds to positively influence Northwest Valley youth, the Surprise Sundancers have given out over $1.7 million in donations to individuals and organizations that provide services to the youth of the West Valley. Funds are raised for scholarships and through a 50/50 Raffle that is held during each Spring Training game.
Beginning in 2012, donations were earmarked for scholarships for Northwest Valley students. Since 2016, the scholarship application process has been administered by the Arizona Community Foundation.
2025 Surprise Stadium Schedule Announced UPDATED!
Major League Baseball, along with the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, have released the 2025 Cactus League Spring Training schedule.
Opening Day is Friday, February 21, with the Royals hosting the Rangers at Surprise Stadium, which recently ranked second in the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice awards for “Best Spring Training Facility.”
The 30-day schedule includes 15 home games for each the Rangers and the Royals.
2025 Spring Training ticket packages, including season tickets, mini-plans and group tickets will go on sale starting Tuesday, October 29, at 10 a.m. (AZ time). Each of these options offers savings over individual game ticket prices, first choice of the best available seating locations and exclusive access to pre-sale opportunities.
Individual game tickets for Spring Training at Surprise Stadium will go on sale online at SurpriseStadium.com on November 12, at 10 a.m. (AZ time).
Information regarding game times and promotional events have been updated. The annual Charity game with proceeds going to the Surprise Sundancers will be Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at 1:05 pm.
2025 Surprise Stadium Spring Training schedule:
21-Feb Texas Rangers vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
22-Feb San Francisco Giants vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm
23-Feb Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
24-Feb Athletics vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
25-Feb Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm CHARITY GAME!
26-Feb Colorado Rockies vs. Kansas City 6:05 pm
2-Mar Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm
3-Mar Texas Rangers vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
4-Mar Athletics vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm
5-Mar Seattle Mariners vs. Kansas City Royals 6:05 pm
6-Mar San Diego Padres vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm
7-Mar Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
8-Mar Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm
9-Mar Milwaukee Brewers vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
10-Mar Cleveland Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
11-Mar Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm
12-Mar Cincinnati Reds vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm
13-Mar San Diego Padres vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
14-Mar Colorado Rockies vs. Texas Rangers 6:05 pm
15-Mar Cincinnati Reds vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
16-Mar Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers 1:05 pm
17-Mar Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
18-Mar Cleveland Guardians vs. Texas Rangers 6:05 pm
19-Mar San Francisco Giants vs. Kansas City Royals 6:05 pm
20-Mar Colorado Rockies vs. Texas Rangers 6:05 pm
21-Mar Seattle Mariners vs. Kansas City Royals 1:05 pm
22-Mar Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers 12:05 pm
Schedule subject to change
Also save the date for the 2025 Out of the Park Music Fest on March 22, after the Royals and Rangers game. Time, artists and more details to be released at a later time.
For Spring Training questions or information, please go to SurpriseStadium.com or call 623.222.2222.
Charity Game for Sundancers
The annual charity game for Surprise Sundancers charities was held on February 24, 2024. The attendance for the game was 6,296, and it was reported to be the highest-grossing Charity in Sundancer's history. The game was introduced by Board President Jay Hicks to thank the fans and the hundreds of Sundancer volunteers for their support of the Surprise area youth through scholarships and other activities.
Sundancers Board Announces New Officers
July 28, 2023 - The Sundancers Board of Directors has selected a new slate of officers for the 2024–2025 term. Jay Hicks, a Board member since 2018, has been elected President; Randy Jackson, a Board member since 2018, has been elected Vice President; Paul Moehring, a Board member since 2022, has been elected Treasurer; and Jennifer Williams, a Board member since 2022, has been elected Secretary.
The Board thanks outgoing President Jim Triggs and Treasurer Diana Teter for their service during the last term.
New Community Leaders join the Sundancers Board
The Sundancers Board of Directors has announced the addition of five new community leaders to the volunteer Board of the Surprise Sundancers organization. The new Board members (pictured above from left to right) include:
Current Board members of Surprise Sundancers (2024):
Jay Hicks, President
Randy Jackson, Vice President
S. Paul Moehring, Treasurer
Jennifer Williams, Secretary
Todd Hornback
Tucker Smith
Herman Orcutt
Bill Pupo
Jim Triggs
Joe Holcomb
Arlene Santos
Bill Adams
Tamara Jamison
Surprise Sundancers Awarded a $5,000 Grant From the MLB Players Trust
Surprise, Arizona (April 2, 2022): Jim Triggs, President of the Surprise Sundancers Board of Directors, has announced that the MLB Players Trust has approved our grant application for a $5,000 award. This grant is being offered due to MLB operations being shut down during the lockout. According to Triggs, the award money will be used to supplement the funds used for scholarships for next year.
According to Amy "Emiko" J. Hever, Director of the MLB Players Trust Board of Directors, our request in the amount of $5,000 has been approved. "We are honored to support SURPRISE SUNDANCER and are excited to play a small role in your work to strengthen the lives and well-being of others in your local community."
Surprise Sundancers' History of Giving Updated for 2025
During the 2025 Spring Training season of scholarship awards, the Surprise Sundancers have reached the milestone of giving out more than $2.163 Million in donations for the youth of the Northwest Valley since their inception.
With our charter to raise funds to positively influence Northwest Valley youth, the Surprise Sundancers have given out $2,163 million in donations to individuals and organizations that provide services to the youth of the West Valley. Funds are raised for scholarships and through a 50/50 Raffle that is held during each Spring Training game. The 50/50 Raffle program has been in operation since 2014 and has provided more than $307,786 in donations through 2022 to 31 local organizations that benefit local youth.
In 2018, the Surprise Sundancers endowed three high-value scholarships in the name of Mark Coronado that were awarded to a group of deserving youth. In 2019, the Surprise Sundancers Board of Directors voted to continue the Mark Coronado Scholarship designation for the top tier of initial first-year scholarship recipients for this year and into the future. Mark Coronado (1958-2017) was known as an ambitious, gifted leader who tirelessly worked to improve the quality of life for all families in the West Valley.
The majority of the donations are raised for scholarships, with $1,493,000 given in scholarships since 2006. The first year, Surprise Sundancers provided $250,000 to Dreamcatcher Park, the award-winning, fully accessible athletic facility located on the Surprise Recreation Campus near Surprise Stadium. Dreamcatcher Park is a multi-use athletic facility designed to provide a safe and fun place for athletes with special needs to participate in sports and recreation programs.
Beginning in 2012, donations were earmarked for scholarships for Northwest Valley students. Since 2016, the scholarship application process has been administered by the Arizona Community Foundation. From 2012 through 2025, Surprise Sundancers have awarded $1,601,000 in annual scholarships to 718 students. Individual initial scholarships were valued at $1,000 to $15,000 each, and additional yearly scholarships were valued at $500 to $2,500 per year. Of the scholarship recipients, 242 of them were awarded a total of $323,500 in additional scholarships to help them complete their higher education pursuits.
Below is the breakdown of scholarship awards by year:
- 2012 - $48,000
- 2013 - $24,000
- 2014 - $24,000
- 2016 - $215,000
- 2017 - $135,000
- 2018 - $140,000
- 2019 - $213,750
- 2020 - $155,750
- 2021 - $140,500
- 2022 - $94,500
- 2023 - $138,500
- 2024 - $163,500
- 2025 - $107,500
Mission Statement
The Surprise Sundancers are a 501-C(3) non-profit organization established for the purpose of providing volunteer services to support the City of Surprise with regard to promoting, assisting, and coordinating Major League Spring Training activities and other events conducted by the City. As a service organization, the Surprise Sundancers will provide volunteers for game day operations during the spring training season and, at other times of the year, raise funds and receive contributions to support charitable, youth-related activities and projects within the community.
WHO ARE THE SUNDANCERS?
To apply for this ACF Scholarship, beginning January 1, 2025, please visit:
Applications for 2025 ARE CLOSED AS OF March 1, 2025 - Scholarship applications for 2025 begin on January 1, 2025. Application deadline: March 1, 2025
BUY TICKETS
CONTACT US:
Phone: (623) 222-2222
Phone: (623) 222-2263
Fax: (623) 222-2001
Mon - Fri: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sat & Sun: Closed