Spring Training Sponsorship Strategies

It’s that time of year when roughly half of major league baseball comes to Arizona for spring training. For most teams, pitchers and catchers reported last week. Full squad workouts begin on the 17th. Spring training games start Thursday, February 20th, and conclude on Tuesday, March 25th.

An estimated 300,000 visitors will make the trip to Arizona to see their teams prepare for the 2025 Major League Baseball season. Last year, a total of 1,630,436 fans attended the 216 games held at the ten ballparks located throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area. The economic impact of Spring Training is estimated to be over $700,000,000.

Much of this revenue is realized by the hospitality industry with short-term rentals, hotels, restaurants, and other tourism-related businesses representing the ‘low hanging fruit’. But you’d be amiss as a local brand thinking that the Cactus League doesn’t afford you an opportunity to promote yourself to locals and visitors alike.

How you do that could be as simple as a sponsorship deal with the Cactus League itself or with one of the teams. I would caution you, however, that it’s not as simple as buying an ad in some program or a sign in the outfield.

The very nature of Spring Training – relatively short duration, no prolific media component, and a crowd that is mixed both demographically and geographically – lends itself to a more complex sponsorship undertaking. Where it may be one of the more affordable options for your brand, there’s more to executing an effective and impactful Spring Training sponsorship.

It will be tough for me to address this opportunity with a great deal of specificity as each brand would have a nuanced approach to maximizing their investment. I will say that relying solely on assets that a team may bring to the table is potentially limiting depending on your goal. In general terms, I like what the teams have to offer but I am more favorable to augmenting your investment with them by overlaying additional traffic-driving strategies that have a more persuasive and long-term impact on your potential customer.

Here are a few ideas for you to consider … please remember that these are general ideas that may or may not work for your brand.

1. Consider running a sports radio campaign in conjunction with your sponsorship with the likes of Bonneville or iHeart. Make the campaign relevant to your ST sponsorship and explore the possibility of doing a promotion for additional exposure/engagement.
2. Run a social media campaign in conjunction with your Spring Training team partner. Gain positive associative value by asking (or incentivizing) fans at the game to engage your brand at a game.
3. Consider adding a Spring Training team sponsorship as a precursor to a sponsorship with the Diamondbacks. This would allow you to engage fans before the regular MLB season begins.
4. Use the highly desired ticketing assets that Spring Training stadiums have to offer as part of your campaign. This can be done at scale (e.g. lawn seats for test drives) or more premium assets like the special group seating options available at pretty much every stadium. These assets are far more affordable and equally valued by everyone.
5. You could also ‘energize’ your sponsorship with another sports entity in the Valley by infusing a spring training element. None of the local teams really compete with Spring Training so you might be able to do something extra special with your team partner.

There are lots of options and from where I sit, I see the Cactus League as one of the better opportunities for brands to do something unique and special by way of sports marketing. It does require some creativity. If you’re running short on that, reach out and Line Drive can help your brand maximize your spring training investment.

Ed has over 25 years of sports marketing experience. If you’re looking for some assistance with your sponsorship efforts, contact him at ed.olsen@linedrivesportsmarketing.com or call his cell at 602.284.6722.