The Cactus League team which drew the most fans this past spring training season was the San Francisco Giants playing in the City of Scottsdale. However, the stadiums which had the greatest attendance, ahead of Scottsdale and in order of rank, were Camelback Ranch in Glendale, the Peoria Sports Complex and Surprise Stadium. Hohokam Park in Mesa, where the Chicago Cubs play, came in fifth place. This set of circumstances came about because the top three facilities were each shared by two baseball teams. Obviously, it is the number of people attending games which is the most important factor in determining the economic impact and potential tax revenue generated by a spring training project. Next year there will be another two-team stadium in Maricopa County which will be shared by the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies.
Unfortunately for City of Mesa taxpayers, the Chicago Cubs early on in negotiations rejected the two-team format for a proposed new spring training facility. In January of this year the Cubs president was quoted as saying they had been approached by other teams about the possibility of a shared project, but they rejected the concept. Too bad nobody asked the opinion of the people who will be asked to pay for this development.
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