PHOENIX — Baseball fans showed up in big numbers to Cactus League games this spring, as the league is reporting huge growth in average 2023 game attendance.
The league announced attendance numbers Thursday, saying just over 7,200 fans came through the turnstiles on average for each Cactus League game this year.
All told, more than 1.6 million fans attended games in the league's 10 ballparks across the Valley.
That total doesn't include more than 45,000 fans that went to games where MLB teams faced World Baseball Classic squads.
It's the highest attendance for the league since before the COVID pandemic in 2020.
COVID affected attendance numbers in both 2020 and 2021, then the MLB lockout cut spring training short in 2022.
The Cactus League also says all 15 teams that call Arizona their home for spring training saw year-over-year attendance increases.
“After three seasons disrupted by COVID-19 and the MLB lockout, baseball fans flocked back to Cactus League ballparks this spring,” said Bridget Binsbacher, Cactus League Executive Director. “Attendance leaped despite unseasonably cold, wet weather and high airfares and hotel rates. The bottom line: it’s been a season of rebirth for spring training in the Valley.”
The Chicago Cubs had the highest average attendance this spring, with nearly 14,000 fans per game. The Diamondbacks came in second, while the Los Angeles Dodgers drew the third-highest attendance numbers. The matchup between the Cubs and the San Francisco Giants on February 25 also drew a Cactus League record for attendance, when 16,152 fans came out to see the first game of spring training for both squads.
