I take my kids to Rising games on light rail. Never had an issue. For what it’s worth.
I’ve been riding the light rail with my wife and kids for years… probably have been on it close to 75-80 times now and not once have I encountered a problem. Are there some unsavory characters to be experienced? 100%! But maybe I’ve got a different perspective as I grew up riding trains and subways in New York to Yankee, Mets, Knicks and Rangers games, and the things I saw then would make dudes like dscher and Chris Sanders run for the hills! LOL!
As for downtown - I LOVE the location. And downtown is steadily becoming more vibrant.
Parking isn’t ideal, but again, compared to what I’ve experienced in NY and many others cities, the parking for Chase Field is totally reasonable.
And the highways systems in Phoenix are remarkably functional. I just returned from NY and I just can’t believe the traffic situation in the tri-state area. No matter the time of day, if you’re on a highway, you will be sitting in traffic… like, not moving at all!!