By Taylor Seely | Arizona Republic
Thirty miles northwest of Phoenix, there’s a square mile of largely vacant scrub-covered desert amid a rapidly growing city of 143,000 residents.
The vast dirt plots are a striking contrast to the bustling Bell Road to the north, where traffic steams past strip malls with big-box stores, chain retailers, fast food drive-thrus and restaurants.
But in the middle of the dirt square, a 200-acre stretch of buildings, sports fields and swimming pools have etched their way into a bell-shaped formation. Most of the structures, beige with burnt orange accents, belong to the city of Surprise.
A small subset of four buildings and one football field, however, do not. Those buildings, on the southeastern edge, make up Ottawa University: a private, 4-year Christian university with 900 students.
For some Surprise residents, it’s become a staple. Those who live closest know when the football games are because of the bright stadium lights.
