Arizona Cactus League returns for spring training

Spring training kicks off February 20, 2025, and continues until March 25. A total of 15 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams train in Arizona, including our own Arizona Diamondbacks.

In 2023, the Cactus League season generated an estimated $710.2 million in economic impact for Arizona, including $418.5 million for Arizona’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP is a measure of all the goods and services during a specific time period.

Bridget Binsbacher, Executive Director of Arizona Cactus League Baseball Association, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the success of the league and the tourism drive of spring training.

One component they have added to their fields is the automated strike zone technology. It has been tested in minor leagues however now five of the league’s facilities will have that technology running during spring training.

“Spring training is baseball like nowhere else. You get up close and personal and so the fans will be able to get a close-up preview of this technology and how it works before it hits the regular season,” Binsbacher said.

Along with the huge American crowd, an outside group of fans have appeared at spring training with Arizona Diamondback’s Shohei Ohtani fame.

“We’ve got Ohtani who is a driver of tourism all on his own by bringing in so much global attention, the Japanese media, fans. They’ve set up an auxiliary tent just for the media alone, that is a huge deal,” Binsbacher said.

Last year the league recorded approximately 1.6 million fans come to their stadiums for spring training. Binsbacher says that is why the league caters to the tourism of Arizona and the state’s economy.

Binsbacher said last year’s surveys said six out of ten fans were coming from another state. The Cactus League also surveyed about 4,000 fans at each facility on what other attractions brought them. The main attraction was spring training itself however most fans said they were seeing other parts of Arizona, mostly popular attractions such as the Grand Canyon, according to Binsbacher.