Mayor Georgia Lord
City of Goodyear

A frenzy of fans and tourists have returned to the Grand Canyon State for a fun-filled time of year that arrives with the anticipation of the holiday season:

Another spring training season has begun as thousands of fans are converging in Arizona to see their favorite Major League Baseball Team.

A tradition that began with the Cleveland Indians and New York Giants more than 65 years ago, half of baseball’s teams – 15 – today call Arizona their spring training home.

Spring training has boomed into one of the state’s largest tourism draws, generating $422 million a year in annual revenue just during the baseball season alone, according to the results of an economic impact study conducted by Elliot D. Pollack and Company and released by the Cactus League and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority in December. Overall, spring training facilities around the Grand Canyon state generate $632 million a year, that’s including the off-season events held at the facilities.

Goodyear Ballpark – home to the Cincinnati Reds, baseball’s oldest professional team, and the Cleveland Indians – the first team in the Cactus League, was voted the best place to see a spring training game by readers of the Phoenix New Times two of the last three years.

So, while baseball fever is catching on, catch a game in the Cactus League and see all there is to see in the Grand Canyon State.