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Major League Baseball’s spring training begins Friday, and fans will get to be in the stands for a full slate of games for the first time since 2019. The pent-up demand created by pandemic-era restrictions and last season’s labor lockout has Arizona and Florida eyeing a billion-dollar economic bounce back as fans flock back to ballparks in the warm-weather states.
Each year before the regular season begins, MLB teams from around the country head to Arizona and Florida for more than a month to prepare for the season ahead, and each state hosts 15 MLB squads. Teams that hold their preseason camps in Arizona play each other in the Cactus League, those based in Florida compete in the Grapefruit League.
Fans from around the country travel to those states to watch their favorite teams in a more intimate environment than the regular season typically offers, and spring training generates economic activity for the two states, estimated at about $1.3 billion in 2018.
The circumstances of the last three seasons prevented fans from being able to fully partake in spring training, which, in turn, hurt the economies of communities that host spring training.
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Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah, right, poses for a selfie with fans during spring training in Dunedin, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP / AP Newsroom)
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the cancellation of spring training about three weeks in. As the pandemic dragged into 2021, MLB teams in both states limited crowd sizes and set social distancing restrictions. Last year, spring training was delayed and then shortened, disrupting fans’ travel schedules amid a labor dispute between MLB owners and the MLB Players Association over their contract.
With pandemic restrictions lifted and labor disputes resolved, MLB fans will be able to enjoy a full spring training experience. And communities in Arizona and Florida hope to enjoy the economic benefits of a return to normalcy.
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Fans look into the dugout during a spring training baseball workout Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. | AP Newsroom
“In 2023, we are looking forward to a ‘normal’ season, the first in four years,” Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher told FOX Business. “Everywhere I go, I sense excitement among valley residents about the upcoming season. Combine that with an upswing in tourism, and I’m optimistic we will see higher attendance.”
Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Sanders echoed that sentiment, telling FOX Business that, on the heels of the Super Bowl and WM Phoenix Open, he believes it will be a “strong year” for spring training attendance that could surpass the 1.7 million visitors the area hosts in typical years.
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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws a pitch during the first day of spring training baseball workouts for Dodgers pitchers and catchers in Phoenix Feb. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin / AP Newsroom)
The last research on the economic impact of a full spring training season was done in 2018, when the Arizona and Florida-based leagues generated a combined $1.3 billion in economic impact.
A 2018 study for the Florida Sports Foundation found the Grapefruit League generated $687 million in economic impact and created or supported 7,152 jobs in the communities hosting spring training camps. Fans attended an average of 2.9 games, and just over half of the fans who attended games came from out of state.
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Research by Arizona State University found that the 2018 Cactus League season generated a total economic impact of $644 million and created or supported 6,439 annual jobs. The study found that six out of 10 fans traveled to Arizona from out of state, the median fan attendance was three games and that fans stayed in Arizona for four nights and spent about $405 per day.
