SPRING TRAINING

Valley Cactus League attendance climbs for 5th straight spring

More than 1.75 million fans attended games in Arizona in 2026

Valley ballparks, like Scottsdale’s Salt River Fields at Talking Stick seen on March 24, saw Cactus League attendance climb for a fifth straight season in 2026.

(Independent Newsmedia/Steve Stockmar)

Even a record heat wave couldn’t keep fans from pouring into Cactus League ballparks this spring.

Collective attendance at all 10 Valley spring training stadiums rose for the fifth straight season in 2026. The Cactus League drew a total of 1,753,849 fans to 237 games, a 3.4% increase representing a change of 58,369 fans over 2025 and the largest single-season attendance total since 2018, the league announced Tuesday.

The Cactus League averaged 7,400 fans per game, down 169 from a year ago.

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