It's March and Spring Training is in full swing. Baseball has done a tremendous job with their exhibition season over the years creating travel destinations in Arizona and Florida for fans to enjoy baseball and amazing weather. Most travelers follow their team to their warm climate homes in either the Cactus League or Grapefruit League, but for those who are just happy to be in the ballpark or looking for a change of scenery, the experience could not be more different. Either way, you are going to enjoy yourself. Decide for yourself which is right for you considering the following travel factors:
Baseball: Phoenix
It's not that you are going to see different brands of baseball, what makes Phoenix so great is that the distance between Surprise (Northwest) and Mesa (Southeast) is a 50 minute drive meaning that any game on the schedule is in play every day. Many days, you can easily do a doubleheader and see two games in two stadiums on the same day. It happened 17 times in 2019 on the Cactus League calendar. This is certainly possible in the Grapefruit League as well, but more challenging - you need to find two east coast teams or two west coast teams in order to make that happen and even still it is a 2-hour drive from Tampa to Fort Myers for example.
If you were interested in experiencing as many stadiums as possible on March 8th, 2019 it would have been possible to catch a few innings at 4 stadiums in the same day:
12:05 - Diamondbacks @ Brewers (Maryvale)
1:05 - Reds @ Royals (Surprise)
6:05 - Giants @ Indians (Goodyear)
7:05 - Royals @ Dodgers (Glendale)
Ballparks: Florida
The Grapefruit League features LECOM Park, build in 1923 and fans get to experience both the architectural history of the park, but it has newer amenities after a 2012 renovation. It's the Fenway Park and Wrigley Field of all Spring Training facilities as the next closest in age was built in 1966.
Speaking of Fenway and Wrigley, both spring training sites for the Red Sox and Cubs are among the gems on the Spring Training circuit. Jet Blue Park, the home of the Red Sox, is a to scale spring training version of their full-time home in Boston with unique seating opportunities in the Monster and shade for most seats. Sloan Park does not have the ivy growing in the outfield, but nice touches such as the rooftop patio viewing deck in the outfield that is a great adaptation for Cubs fans inside the ballpark.
The Grapefruit League also wins because there are more ballparks to choose from (13 vs. 10) with more teams in the Cactus League sharing facilities.
One thing worth noting for the Cactus League is that the median age in 2019 of those ballparks is 18.5 vs. 28 in the Grapefruit League. The parks if the Cactus League are generally cleaner because of age and also by virtue of use - they are active for only about 3 months for Spring Training and the Arizona Fall League, but do not have summer tenants. Most ballparks in the Grapefruit League are used during the summer to host single-A games in the Florida State League. It is also worth noting that the Atlanta Braves are going to be moving into CoolToday Park in Sarasota for the 2020 season which is the only current construction project.
Cost: Florida
Airfare is going to depend on place of origin, but Florida does have the advantage because it offers three major cities (Miami, Orlando and Tampa), six medium to large international airports and many other smaller regional airports. You can cost compare Florida airports. This also impacts rental cars to an extent. In Phoenix, there's only one airport / rental car option.
This is prime time tourism season in both areas so it is nearly impossible to find a deal on hotels in prime locations. Not true for the 3-star hotels. If you are on a budget, Florida is the better option by virtue of the amount of rooms available. Any hotel south of I-4 is going to be accessible to games. Florida is so much more spread out, so you would be best served to move around to different hotels. In Phoenix, some of the further suburbs such as Goodyear can be found at a reasonable cost.
Other Entertainment Options: Phoenix
This is incredibly close. Both Florida and Phoenix are in prime tourism season and other sporting events such as NBA, NHL, golf tournaments, NASCAR and top Division 1 colleges are all available during Spring Training in either city. There's a personal preference between hiking in the desert vs. walks on the beach - both offer incredible outdoor activities and you can bring your golf clubs to either and play a round.
Phoenix gets the slight advantage because of Scottsdale. There are few better baseball experiences than going to see a Giants game and then enjoying the nightlife in Old Town Scottsdale. It's as close as you can come in Spring Training to the atmosphere of Wrigleyville or Fenway on a game day.
Not related to baseball, but the Grand Canyon is 3 hours north of Phoenix. When a natural wonder of the world is that close, it is absolutely worth the drive and you can still get back in time to see a night game.
Overall: Phoenix
This is one of those choices where you really can't go wrong, but Phoenix is my preference for Spring Training. The proximity of the parks allows to take in more games and then have a great time in Scottsdale after the game. Phoenix is also unlike anywhere else in the country. The climate is unique and the dry heat at 80 is more pleasant compared to the 80 with humidity expected in Florida. There are great outdoor activities and hikes, breweries and authentic Mexican food. Go for baseball and live it up with all of what else Phoenix has to offer.
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