Cactus League drew nearly 1.7 million fans in 2025 despite challenges

PEORIA — The Cactus League drew nearly 1.7 million fans across 224 spring training games in the Valley in 2025, officials announced Wednesday.

Despite several challenges, attendance grew by more than 65,000 fans compared to 2024, marking the fourth straight year of growth.

“Spring training is resilient. We had some obstacles this year … but at the end of the day, we continue to move the right direction, and attendance continues to increase,” Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher said during a press conference.

In addition to six games being canceled because of rain, Binsbacher noted that two of the league’s top draws — the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs — left the Cactus League in mid-March to open the regular season in a special series in Tokyo.

While the Cubs came back to Arizona to play their last five games, the Dodgers did not return after playing their final game on March 11.

Arizona Office of Tourism spokesperson Veronica Quintero said that spring training continues to generate significant revenue for the state.

“It’s a steady, consistent event for us here, drawing about six out of 10 visitors from out of state, so it’s huge for us,” Quintero said.

The Cactus League generated more than $710 million in total economic impact in 2023, according to Arizona State University’s most recent economic impact study. Quintero said the next economic impact study will come out next year, but she expects revenue will increase in line with the trend of growing attendance.

Other 2025 Cactus League attendance stats

The Cubs led the Cactus League in average attendance for the 12 straight season with 12,847 fans per game, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks (11,440) and Dodgers (11,065).

The San Diego Padres saw the largest increase in average attendance — gaining more than 800 fans per game.

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