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1.6 million fans attended spring training in Arizona this year

After three years of COVID-19 and labor disruptions, Major League Baseball completed its first full spring training since 2019.

More than 1.6 million fans attended games in Arizona this year, but it wasn’t a full return to normal. That was 8% less than attendance in 2019.

Cactus League director Bridget Binsbacher says the weather was partly to blame.

"We had unseasonably cold, wet weather for most of the season, and I think we recorded seven rainouts. That could, would, in fact affected our attendance significantly," Binsbacher said. 

But the Chicago Cubs do not have fair-weather fans. Despite the gray skies, the Cubs once again led the Cactus League in attendance, averaging more than 13,000 per game.

News director Chad Snow joined the KJZZ newsroom in 2016.