Arizona's economy records $710,200,000 boost after MLB spring training's return in 2023

Arizona has played a major part in MLB's pre-season festivities as players and clubs gather and arrange their training camps to compete in the Cactus League. Every year, the MLB kicks off their season with spring training games ahead of the 162-game schedule. Those games held in Arizona are part of the Cactus League, while those held in Florida are under the Grapefruit League.

These games not only become a fan attraction but also bring a lot of indirect revenue to the city they are hosted in. In the last few years, the league has seen a lot of hiccups from COVID-19 cancellations (2020), limitations in attendance (2021), and spring training delays (2022), before finally having a full season in 2023.

According to independent research done by Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona's Cactus League brought in $418.5 million to the GDP of Arizona in 2023. Moreover, the total impact was estimated to be around $710.2 million in total economic activity.

The research on last year's Cactus League also suggests that six out of 10 people coming in to watch games were from out of state. In 2023, an average of 7,246 fans attended the game, accounting for a total attendance of 1,565,182 fans across 216 games.

The study, which polled 3,386 out-of-state tourists who came to Arizona to see games at 10 Cactus League ballparks, found that the average Cactus League visitor attends three games, stays four nights in Arizona, and spends approximately $421 per day.

On the other hand, Florida's Grapefruit League saw an attendance of 1,425,259 fans across 237 games, with an average attendance of 6.014 fans per game.

Cactus League official on the impact of Spring Training at Arizona

In an interview with FOX Business, executive director of Cactus League Bridget Binsbacher discussed the economic impact of spring training games on the city.

"We were thrilled to come back to a regular environment last season and we're just planning on continuing to ride that momentum and move in the right direction for the 2024 season," Binsbacher said.

"It doesn't just impact the host cities where our facilities are located across the valley; it truly does impact all of Arizona so they're coming for spring training but we know from our economic impact study and the thousands of out-of-state fans that we survey that they're enjoying Arizona from Tombstone to the Grand Canyon so it's tremendous," Binsbacher added.

Spring training games have become a vacation spot for many families who love baseball. The serene environment adds to the delight.