Cactus League Spring Training Brings In A Lot Of Fans — And Money
Baseball fans from all over have invaded the Phoenix area for spring training games.
Fifteen Major League teams playing at 10 different stadiums from Surprise to Mesa attract nearly 2 million fans a year and generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the Arizona economy.
America’s Pastime remains as popular — and as expensive — as ever.
According to the ticket marketplace retailer TickPick, the average price of a ticket for a Cactus League game this year is now $41.25, that’s actually down 6 cents from last year.
The cheapest seat in the Valley can be found in Surprise, spring home of the Kansas City Royals, where the average price is just under $30. The most expensive is in Mesa, home of the Chicago Cubs, where it’ll cost more than twice as much at over $64 (which is down from nearly $77 in 2018).
Kyle Zorn is a marketing strategist with TickPick. He says supply is simply meeting demand.
“[From] what we’re seeing, the price movement has been minimal year over year, but spring training remains one of the most sought and popular pre-season events compared to other major sports in the U.S,” Zorn said.
Nearly 1.8 million fans attended games last year in Arizona and according to an ASU study, 60 percent of them were from out of town, spending an average of $405 per day during their stay and generating over $370 million in tourism revenue for the local economy.
