The Cactus League Kicks Off the 2024 Season

An interview with Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher.

A note to our readers: This interview took place on Thursday, Feb. 23rd. We hope you enjoy.

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On the very day marking the launch of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) Spring Training season, we were delighted to be joined by Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher. Just ahead of Thursday’s afternoon matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, Executive Director Binsbacher shared insights regarding the Cactus League’s economic footprint, her organization’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as what the future of Spring Training in Arizona may hold. Executive Director Binsbacher – who previously served as a Peoria City Councilmember until January 2023 – also emphasized the importance of collaboration with state, local, and tribal officials to ensure continued success of the Cactus League. 

In our discussion with Executive Director Binsbacher, we delved into the intricate workings behind the Cactus League's operations and its role in shaping Arizona's growing sports landscape. As another Spring Training season unfolds in the Valley, organizations like the Cactus League showcase not only the state’s love of sports, but also its status as an economic and cultural powerhouse.

The following exchange was edited slightly in order to maintain brevity and clarity. 

Western Tribune: With the season beginning, could you give us a brief overview of what your role as executive director of the Cactus League entails, and what your priorities are? If you work with local policymakers and local leaders, could you just give us some background information on what that looks like?

Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher: The Cactus League is a nonprofit organization established back in 1947. It was an all-volunteer organization until 2018 when I was hired as their first employee. The Cactus League started as a forum to share best practices and grow the industry in Arizona. Today, we have myself as a focused leader serving as one voice of the industry. Our primary goal is outreach and education, the promotion of Spring Training, and really elevating the Arizona brand because it has become such a tremendous industry and has such a great impact on tourism, which is a huge driver of the state's economy.

WT: Going from there, our readers are especially interested in government and policy making. With 15 teams based in [8 cities and the tribal Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian community], the Cactus League must coordinate with government leaders–different mayors, tribal leaders, state leaders. Can you walk us through how often you interact with government leaders and what that looks like?

BB: We're a membership-based organization, so the majority of our members are representing their individual structure – all the facilities are individually owned and operated. Our members primarily work in operations. When I took this position, we obviously were hit with the pandemic. So working with local and state leaders was key – it was immediate. We had to establish a task force and work with local leaders to create a universal occupancy plan to have a safe and secure season for our fans and all of the facilities. We work with a lot of our partners throughout the state and throughout the Valley. We have relationships with all of our municipalities and we keep an eye on what's happening during the legislative session. We don't necessarily get involved in a lot of the legislative issues unless they are directly impacting the industry. Right now, there’s not anything that we're actively working on but we're always keeping an eye on it. Certainly when the opportunity presents itself, we'll be there to represent the best interest of the organization.

WT: The Cactus League had three seasons affected by COVID-19, and like you said this took a lot of collaboration with local leaders. You mentioned the task force — can you build on what lessons you learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and what kind of collaborative efforts you might need to use moving forward?

BB: Our success depends on the relationships that we have with our members, our municipalities, our teams, our state and local leaders so it's a big focus of what we're doing, no doubt about it. [The COVID-19] situation was very unique, but those relationships came into play in a big way, and we had to work together to be able to maintain some sort of a season in the environment that we were in. 

One thing that we did learn–knowing that the Cactus League’s impact for 2023 was a $710 million direct economic impact, and $418 million gross domestic product (GDP) impact–the percentage of season that we lost during those few years was the percentage of impact that we lost. There was a direct correlation. That was one of the big lessons that we learned. 

We were doing an economic impact study in 2020 when the season came to a screeching halt as a result of the pandemic. We completed it and still told that story, even though the numbers were drastically lower than they would be in a typical season, we felt like it was important to share as part of that education and outreach–the impact if we did not have a season. That was important for our local and state leaders to know because it affects them, it affects the tourism industry, it affects our constituents, locally owned businesses, small businesses all throughout the state–not just in the cities where we host Cactus League facilities.

WT: The Cactus League has remained a focal point in Arizona despite facing brief turbulence from the pandemic. When you consider the amount of tourist attractions and activities in the state – every major professional sports league, the Waste Management (WM) Open, and the Super Bowl and Final Four cycling through – how does the Cactus League compete with everything else Arizona has to offer?

BB: Obviously we have a long rich history with the Cactus League in Arizona. I think the big difference between the Cactus League, which is in fact, a mega-event all its own and so many of the others, whether they're permanent in Arizona or we bid on them, is that we have facilities all across the Valley. We know that last season we brought in 1.6 million fans from our economic impact study, which we do in partnership with the W.P. Carey School of Business. We know that 6 out of 10 of those fans are coming from somewhere else. They're staying and visiting multiple facilities, seeing multiple games and traveling from the southern end of the state to the Grand Canyon. In groups of four on average, they’re spending over $421 a day. It is a significant impact. As I mentioned, it's not just in the cities where we host Spring Training. It truly does have a significant impact across the entire state of Arizona and it's a month long. It's pretty incredible.

WT: Given the Cactus League’s economic output, do you see there being room for more growth? If so, how would you achieve this? Is this through renovations? Is this through trying to attract another team from the Grapefruit League?

BB: That basically is driven by Major League Baseball (MLB). I think there's always talk and rumors about expansion in other parts of the country. What we do know is that it's a very competitive environment, that's why we're in place to protect the best interest of the industry, to make sure that the public understands how important it is to our state to look at ongoing funding sources to maintain our facilities and remain competitive. Because again, after the last few years we know what it would mean–how detrimental it would be to not have spring training. So we continue to tell that story. 

I think Major League Baseball (MLB) likes having it evenly balanced the way it is right now. A lot of people don't realize it only happens in two places in the country. But we have 15 teams in Arizona, and 15 teams in Florida. Arizona is doing it in the best spot, it is second to none here, it really is... We're set up very different than the Grapefruit League and we do outperform as far as attendance and impact which is pretty remarkable considering we’re about a third of their population in Arizona. 

WT: Could you speak to the importance of the Cactus League's strict geographical concentration in the Phoenix area following the relocation of the D-backs and Rockies from Tucson in 2010, and maybe how it differs from Florida’s Grapefruit League?

BB: I would like to think the fans are going to follow their team because they love it, but no doubt about it, when you can get from one facility to any other facility in the Valley and under an hour, that is very manageable for the clubs. They’re focused on player development and making the most of every minute of opportunity that they have here in Arizona and it's very, very effective for tourists and even locals to be able to go to any one of our facilities. I think it's a huge opportunity the way we are structured overall in the Valley.

WT: We have two teams returning from the World Series playing in the Cactus League for the seventh time in the Cactus League's history. Especially when you consider that one of those teams is the hometown Diamondbacks, can you give us a preview of how this might bring extra juice to Spring Training, and also if there's anything different to be excited about for 2024?

BB: It's going to be tremendous. We know from history and looking at the numbers that what happens in the regular season and the postseason absolutely affects Spring Training. Coming off of an all Cactus League World Series is tremendous. The [Texas] Rangers winning the World Series–being an out-of-state team–they're going to draw like they maybe never have before. They're going to feel a whole new energy–their fans are enthused. I was just there yesterday for their Mayor’s welcome back event. [We] heard from both teams and you could feel the excitement and enthusiasm there. It was pretty incredible. So they're going to work and this isn't just good for Surprise. We're very happy for Surprise. But again, they play in all of our facilities, so it's going to spill over across the league and it's a big win for Arizona. 

As far as our hometown team goes, the Diamondbacks gave us a season that we never expected. We were so pleasantly surprised by that. And though they don't bring in the tourists like the teams coming from out-of-state do necessarily, you're still going to see an increase in attendance and a new energy and enthusiasm surrounding our hometown team. It's going to be a huge benefit all around. Again, the way they play in all the different facilities, it's the gift that keeps on giving. It's pretty exciting. 

The other thing is, with [Shohei] Ohtani moving from the Angels to the Dodgers, it’s big news for Arizona tourism that he remains in the Cactus League, and continues to put Arizona on a global stage and draw the kind of attention that he does. I mean, we're going to see that at another level this season.

WT: Well, again, thank you so much for taking the time today. We really appreciate it.