1st retail portion of Stadium Village soon to rise, an article from AZCentral, reports that after nearly six months of delays and disagreements between Surprise officials and developers of the Stadium Village commercial compound, the project's first retail portion is set to rise near Bell Road and Parkview Place.

"The Restaurants at Stadium Village" is one piece of a 69-acre commercial spread that will eventually surround Surprise Stadium and the city's Cactus League spring training compound on Bullard Avenue south of Bell Road. The spread includes office, retail and residential. However, competing visions of city staff and project developers previously kept Stadium Village's site plans from getting approved, prolonging its groundbreaking.

"The Restaurants" part of the project earned approval from the Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission last week, meaning construction could start within six months.

Picazzo's Gourmet Pizza & Salads, a regional chain, would anchor a nearly 8,000-square-foot, one-story strip of restaurants, according to site plans. Three to four other eateries are expected to follow.

All of Stadium Village was at one time owned by Stadium Village LLC. However, pieces of the project have since been sold to different developers. So far, each developer plans to retain the Stadium Village name, creating what would appear to be a single, uniform project. The Restaurants portion is owned by Southern Devoc, a Washington state company, according to city documents.

In February, AMF Bowling Centers announced that it will build a recreational facility on a separate portion of the Stadium Village project, likely by December.