Florida's Grapefruit League is lagging in the attendance race this year, losing its once-formidable lead to Arizona's Cactus League.
Since holding a 22-8 advantage in Major League Baseball Spring Training sites in 1998, Florida is now tied with the desert venue at 15 teams apiece and attendance has flattened accordingly.
With the 2010 season winding up at the end of this month, Florida's six-year streak of drawing 1.5 million or more fans could be coming to an end.
"It's going to be tough to hit 1.5 million for a seventh consecutive year," said Nick Gandy, director of communications for the Florida Sports Foundation.
"A week or so back, I multiplied the average attendance per game against the number of games left and came up with a number between 1.4 and 1.5 million. But, you never know. Folks seem to come out in droves for the last few games, especially if the weather is nice."
Still, baseball remains big business for Florida. A 2009 study reported that Spring Training -- a 39-day event -- contributed $752.3 million to the state's economy.
Previous studies pegged the Grapefruit League's economic impact at $490 million in 2000 and $300 million in 1991.
It also showed an average of $47 million economic impact per team to the community that hosts a team.
Even as Arizona becomes a bigger player in the spring game, Florida's numbers remain solid, Gandy says.
Through March 23, the Sunshine State's 15 MLB teams are averaging 6,546 fans per game average. That would beat the record of 6,478 set in 2008.
The biggest crowd so far this year was recorded on March 13, when 10,914 watched the New York Yankees play the Baltimore Orioles at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
"The Philadelphia Phillies have played before 10,000 on several occasions in Clearwater and the Braves as well at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex," Gandy said.
Both Florida and Arizona think they have a winner in baseball.
Major League Baseball has a following that transcends economic downturns, said Mark Bonn, president of the Bonn Research Group.
People make their decisions to travel almost a year out and many of the respondents were repeat attendees at Spring Training games. Economic conditions have little effect upon their decision to come to Florida for spring training. Its more about loyalty than economics.
Last year, 48 percent of attendees were from out of state; 28 percent of attendees were Florida, non-county attendees traveling to another county to see a Grapefruit League game; and 24 percent of attendees were Florida, in-county attendees.
To keep the marketing momentum going, both Florida and Arizona have invested in the game.
In 2001 and 2006, the Florida Spring Training Retention fund allotted up to $150 million in matching funds for communities with stadiums in need of upgrade.Up to $75 million was appropriated by the Legislature in those years for up to five communities, which were eligible to receive as much as $15 million apiece in matching funds. They were --
* In 2001: Lakeland (Detroit Tigers), Dunedin (Toronto Blue Jays), Clearwater (Philadelphia Phillies), Indian River County-Vero Beach (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Osceola County (Houston Astros).
* In 2006: Port Charlotte (Tampa Bay Rays), Bradenton (Pittsburgh Pirates), St. Lucie County-Port St. Lucie (New York Mets), Sarasota (Cincinnati Reds) and Fort Lauderdale (Baltimore Orioles).
"Fort Lauderdale is no longer hosting the Orioles and Sarasota lost the Reds and now has the Orioles.The Dodgers left Vero Beach for Arizona.That's something we are working on so it doesn't happen again," Gandy said.
Meanwhile, Arizona has been pouring it on. In 2001, the state enacted a rental-car and hotel tax in two Phoenix-area counties, with much of the proceeds specifically earmarked for Spring Training facilities.
This month, the Arizona House of Representatives approved a 10 percent Spring Training ticket surcharge aimed at keeping the Chicago Cubs. The bill would generate $185 million for improvements to Arizona's facilities over the next 30 years.
The Cubs are considering a move to Florida if they cannot get assistance in building an $84 million complex in east Mesa. The team's new facility would receive about $58 million from the surcharge.
The Cubs are the top draw in the Cactus League, pulling 203,105 fans last year. A Mesa study showed they bring $138 million annually to the local economy.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has said he remains hopeful that Naples will be able to lure the Cubs, who have trained in Mesa since 1979.
Ironically, it was the Cubs who unofficially launched Spring Training in Florida when they started working out at Plant Field in 1913. Lured by Tampa Mayor D.B. McKay's promise to cover the team's expenses up to $100 per player, the Cubs played a three-game series against the Havana Athletics, a team of barnstorming Cuban stars.
Ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to $1 for a box seat. The crowd of nearly 6,000 was the largest ever to witness a sporting event in Tampa.
Baseball observers say Arizona has cleverly marketed itself by making its Cactus League circuit more compact. Where Florida's teams sprawl across 11 counties, Arizona's action is centered in Maricopa County.
Arizona has also capitalized on natural rivalries. The Cincinnati Reds' move to the desert this year put them in the same suburban Goodyear stadium as the Cleveland Indians, who previously left Winter Park.
The Cactus League attracted a record 1.57 million fans last year -- up 20 percent, thanks to the arrival of the Dodgers and the return of the Indians and Chicago White Sox.
This year, the Arizona circuit broke four single-game attendance records, with more than 13 ,000 fans apiece. Two of those gate-busting games involved the Cubs and two came on the same day, March 20.
But Florida remains competitive.
The Red Sox are scheduled to open a new 11,000-seat, $75 million ballpark complex outside Fort Myers in 2012. With Sox tickets running up to $46, bigger revenues are in store.
"Baseball remains one of America's favorite pastimes and the social and economic contributions of the sport are so important to the quality of life in Florida," Crist said in a statement. "It is crucial that we continue to foster and attract baseball."
Despite the East-West jockeying for teams, Gandy said, "I don't anticipate any movement for next year. The next round of stadium leases come due in 2016. That's what we need to prepare for and the challenge the state is facing."
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
