The 2024 Cactus League season opens on Thursday, Feb. 22 and goes through Tuesday, March 26, with 228 games at 10 ballparks across Maricopa County.
“It’s time to play ball,” Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher said. “Hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country will flock to Cactus League ballparks to watch their favorite teams in the dazzling desert sunshine. Generations of baseball fans have fallen in love with Arizona – and Arizona loves to welcome them back every spring.”
Cactus League leaders expect an increase in attendance after the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers met in an All-Cactus League World Series last autumn. In the past, World Series participants have seen higher Cactus League attendance the following spring as fan interest spikes.
The Diamondbacks train at Salt River Fields on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale and the Rangers train at Surprise Stadium.
Here are recent attendance figures for Cactus League teams following World Series appearances*:
- 2019 spring training: The National League champion Dodgers saw attendance increase to 10,326 from 10,154 per game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale.
- 2018 spring training: The National League champion Dodgers saw attendance increase to 10,154 per game from 9,217 at Camelback Ranch-Glendale.
- 2017 spring training: After the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, they drew a then-Cactus League record 251,899 total attendance at Sloan Park the following spring. The American League champion Indians (now Guardians) saw the Cactus League’s largest attendance jump, to 6,345 per game from 5,442 in 2016 at Goodyear Ballpark.
- 2016 spring training: The World Series champion Royals saw attendance jump to 8,407 from 7,519 in 2015 at Surprise Stadium.
- 2015 spring training: The World Series champion Giants saw attendance jump to 10,460 per game from 9,754 in 2014 at Scottsdale Stadium. The American League champion Royals saw attendance jump to 7,519 per game from 6,713 in 2014 at Surprise Stadium.
*Figures do not include Los Angeles Dodgers attendance in 2021 due to COVID-19 capacity limits.
The Cactus League drew 1,565,182 fans in 2023, an average of 7,246 per game. But while big crowds are common in March, the first two weeks of the season typically draw fewer fans.
“This is an opportunity for local residents to scoop up great seats before out-of-state visitors descend on the Valley,” Binsbacher said.
The 2024 Cactus League schedule is here.
The Ohtani Factor
The offseason’s biggest signing is big news for Arizona tourism: Shohei Ohtani changed teams, but he’s staying in the Cactus League. Ohtani has been a prime attraction for six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Now, he’s moving to Camelback Ranch-Glendale with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Fans who want to catch Ohtani in person shouldn’t wait to buy tickets. The Dodgers will play an abbreviated spring training schedule this year, wrapping up on March 13 before heading to South Korea to open the regular season against the San Diego Padres.
A home run for Arizona’s economy
The Cactus League is the equivalent of a mega sporting event – but one that occurs every year, lasts four weeks and plays out across the entire Valley.
The 2023 Cactus League season generated $418.5 million for Arizona’s Gross Domestic Product, according to a study by Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. Overall, the estimated total output of the $710.2 million in statewide economic impact.
Other important findings:
- The Cactus League created 5,893 annual jobs paying $271.9 million in 2023.
- Spring training directly generated a total of $36.6 million in taxes for the state ($28.4 million) and local governments ($8.2 million).
- Six of 10 spring training visitors come from out of state.
- Twenty-two percent of fans reported that they would visit another part of Arizona during their trip – an indication that spring training’s impact may be felt from Tombstone to the Grand Canyon.
- The median Cactus League visitor attends three games, spends four nights in Arizona and spends $421.25 per day.
Redbirds headed to Mesa
The St. Louis Cardinals will make a rare Cactus League appearance when they visit their archrivals, the Chicago Cubs, for a two-game series on Monday, March 25 and Tuesday, March 26 at Sloan Park. The Cards are stopping in Mesa on their way to Los Angeles, where they will open the regular season against Ohtani and the Dodgers.
