GLENDALE — Cactus League attendance rose for the fourth straight season in 2025 despite the loss of two top draws for a significant stretch in March.
Apr 02, 2025Bagnato Pflipsen Communications
The Cactus League drew a total of 1,695,480 to 224 games – an increase of 65,044 over 2024 (3.9 percent) – as baseball fans flocked to 10 ballparks across Maricopa County. The Cactus League averaged 7,569 fans per game, up 21 from a year ago.
“Cactus League attendance continued its steady climb despite challenges beyond our control,” Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher said. “Baseball fans turned out in big numbers to bask in the Arizona sunshine and experience baseball in our intimate, beautiful ballparks.”
The Cactus League averaged 49,867 fans per day for more than a month. The largest single-day attendance came on Saturday, March 8, when 80,887 fans turned out across the Valley.
“We are grateful to the visitors and residents who support their teams, and to the eight municipalities and the tribal community who annually host spring training for 15 Major League Baseball clubs,” Binsbacher said. “With six out of 10 fans coming from out of state, attendance is a reliable barometer of spring training’s enduring power as a tourism driver.”
The Cactus League faced challenges at the gate this year. Two of the circuit’s top three draws – the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers – left the Valley in mid-March to open the regular season in the Tokyo Series. The Cubs returned for five games at Sloan Park, but the Dodgers did not play a spring training game in Arizona after March 11.
Wet weather also put a damper on attendance, with six rainouts, which are not made up in spring training. On March 13, four ballparks moved start times up by an hour, allowing the games to be squeezed in before a storm rolled through.
Some 2025 Attendance Highlights
- The San Diego Padres saw the biggest jump at the gate, averaging 6,603 per game at Peoria Sports Complex, an increase of 835 per game (14.4 percent).
- The Athletics averaged 5,903 per game at Hohokam Stadium, an increase of 579 per game (10.8 percent).
- The Chicago Cubs led the Cactus League in attendance for the 12th straight season, averaging 12,847 per game at Sloan Park, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks (11,440 per game at Salt River Fields and Chase Field) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (11,065 at Camelback Ranch-Glendale).
- The Cubs and the Seattle Mariners played before a Cactus League record 16,161 fans at Sloan Park on March 8.
Recent Cactus League Attendance Figures
