Arizona tourism office, Chicago Cubs team up to bring Chicagoans to Valley
Sep 22, 2017, 4:46 AM | Updated: 11:27 am
Sloan Park, formerly known as Cubs Park, in Mesa, Arizona, has been a major tourism destination for Chicago residents. The Arizona Office of Tourism is teaming up with the Chicago Cubs for a new marketing campaign in Chicago. (Photo: Facebook/Visit Arizona)
(Photo: Facebook/Visit Arizona)
PHOENIX — The Arizona Office of Tourism has teamed up with the Chicago Cubs in an effort to bring Illinois residents to the Valley of the Sun.
The partnership includes promotions in Wrigley Field, the Cubs’ home stadium, fan sweepstakes and advertising on the team’s social media during both regular season and spring training.
Stephanie Dowling, deputy director at Arizona Office of Tourism, told KTAR News that Chicago and Illinois as a whole are immensely important to Arizona as a source of visitors. An average of 1.5 million Illinois residents visited Arizona annually over the last four years, Dowling said.
Dowling said Illinois visitors and the amount of money they spend in the state helps generate tax revenue, which in turn supports the local economy and community, provides relief for residents, builds infrastructure and supports local schools.
While it may seem obvious that Illinois residents come to Arizona to escape the frigid Midwestern winters, Dowling said that is not always the case. Many Illinois and Chicago residents visit the state all year round, from the winter to spring training, Dowling said.
“Arizona is very appealing to Chicago travelers,” she said, adding that the state’s mix of urban and rural activities, from shopping in Scottsdale to hiking the Grand Canyon, is a major attraction for visitors.
The Cubs have their spring training hub in Arizona, at Sloan Park in Mesa. The park opened in 2014 and can hold 15,000 fans, making it the biggest spring training stadium in Major League Baseball.
This, in part, has been a years-long advertisement for Arizona in Chicago, one that only skyrocketed after the Cubs won the World Series in 2016. Dowling said the state has been advertising in the city for many years and the awareness continues to grow.
Debbie Johnson, the director of the Arizona Office of Tourism, said in a statement that the department recently spent four days in Chicago to engage with Cubs fans, meet local journalists, planners and travel agents and show off a new “virtual-reality experience.”
But the Arizona visitors were not the only ones who got something out of the trip, “the Cubs won all four games during our visit,” Johnson said. “So we’re rooting for Cubs — until, of course, they run into the D’backs. (Our fondness for Chicago does have its limits!)”
