Cactus League executive relieved for start of spring training in Valley, embracing challenges

PHOENIX — Major League Baseball and its players reached an agreement to end a monthslong lockout on Thursday, a relief for a top Cactus League executive who expects challenges to arise during a likely condensed spring training.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time and we’re great at it, and we will be ready to host whatever spring training opportunity is presented to us,” Bridget Binsbacher, the Cactus League’s executive director, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Gaydos and Chad.

Binsbacher said staffing challenges are real, but the Cactus League has part-time folks in place at each of the facilities.

While the return of spring training baseball to the Valley is positive, it will likely be truncated due to the short amount of time until the clubs head home for Opening Day.

Players were supposed to report as early as Feb. 14, with games getting underway on Feb. 26.

“We don’t what the impact will be because we don’t exactly know how many games will be played, how this has affected tourism and scheduled trips,” Binsbacher said, adding this may be a chance for local residents who don’t usually get out to spring training a chance to experience it.

Players must report to facilities by Sunday and games will get underway on March 17 or 18, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Opening Day will be on April 7, a week later than originally scheduled.

It’s a fairly quick ramp-up for the start of spring training, with the date of that actually occurring being up in the air as late as Thursday morning, but Binsbacher said they are ready.

“We are definitely relieved that MLB and the Players Association have reached an agreement,” Binsbacher said.

“The Cactus League, our 10 ballparks, our eight municipalities, the tribal community, we are very excited to welcome fans and teams back into our facilities.”

Binsbacher said the Cactus League in 2018, the last time an economic study was done on a normal spring training, brought in $650 million to the state.

Conducted every two years, the economic study in 2020 found that the number was cut in half to $353 million with the Cactus League being shortened due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the unusual spring training and what that could mean for Valley tourism, the main takeaway is that it’s time to play ball once again.

“Everyone has been through so much the last few years, and our stakeholders, our businesses, our facilities, we’re just so excited for baseball to return,” Binsbacher said. “People are ready.”

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