SPRING TRAINING BASE
The 2018 Florida Grapefruit League generated an economic impact
of $687.1 million for the State of Florida. The Florida Grapefruit
League takes place annually during the Major League Baseball (MLB)
Spring Training season and features 15 MLB teams in 12 cities.
The 2018 Florida Spring Training Economic Impact Study was
completed by Tallahassee-based Downs & St. Germain Research to
determine the Grapefruit League’s overall economic impact, including
number of attendees, jobs created, and the overall associated wages
for employees.
The study showed a 61% increase from the adjusted total of the last
study completed in 2009. The new methodology accounted for fans
who attended multiple games during Spring Training not previously
included in the 2009 study. Approximately 1,500 of the 1,497,306
attended fans were surveyed to generate the League’s economic
impact and fan spending throughout the 13 Spring Training ballparks.
Fan spending data was collected during multiple games at all
15 Florida Spring Training teams’ games between February 23 and
March 27.
A key finding of the survey showed that of the averaged total of 6,318
fans per game, 70% were from outside of the host teams’ local markets
(52% out of state; 18% out of county). Those fans generated nearly
$584 million in economic impact. In this survey, non-local fans are
categorized as individuals who were not residents of the counties in
which the 13 ballparks are located.
Downs & St. Germain’s findings also showed that 7,152 jobs are
created annually by Florida Spring Training, accounting for
$253.5 million in wages. Fans attending games were responsible for
355,590 paid accommodation room nights at Florida-based lodging
destinations. In total, fans attended an average of 2.9 games.
The Sunshine State’s annual MLB Spring Training continues to connect
with fans throughout Florida and the country as those who surveyed
gave their experience in Florida an average 9.3 rating on a
10-point scale.
86% of fans made plans, to return for the 2019 Florida Spring Training
season.
20 | 2020 Florida Spring Training Guide
BENEFIT TO