Each time Shohei Ohtani steps onto a Cactus League field, thousands of Japanese tourists and media are present, making Arizona\u2019s spring training an international destination.<\/p>\n
You might say Ohtani\u2019s arrival has introduced a new cultural dynamic to the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call that the Ohtani factor,\u201d said Bridget Binsbacher, executive director of the Cactus League. \u201cIt has been a significant factor and it reminds me of the days back with the Mariners and Ichiro (Suzuki). It was incredible how the energy changed, and just the intensity of all the people in the stadium here and it\u2019s just beyond what you can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024, the number of Arizona visitors from Japan jumped from 21,000 to 26,000, a\u00a0 22% increase from 2023 to 2024 \u2014 the second largest increase among the 12 nations that were surveyed, according to a study by the Arizona Office of Tourism. Ohtani also drew a large following from 2018 to 2023 when he played for the Angels, who also train in the Valley, but the jump to the high-profile Dodgers seemed to give tourism an extra boost.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fan base coming from Japan, following their players, they go to great lengths to see them up close like you can here in spring training,\u201d Binsbacher said.<\/p>\n
The press box at Camelback Ranch in Glendale \u2014 the spring training home of the Dodgers and White Sox \u2014 has gotten so crowded with reporters that officials have made special accommodations for Japanese media.<\/p>\n
\u201cJapanese media has just come in huge numbers, and to the point where they\u2019ve had to put another tent on the property because there just isn\u2019t enough room in the press box,\u201d Binsbacher said. \u201cWe embrace it, we welcome it. I will be so excited to see how all of these things combined affect the total impact for 2026. We\u2019re looking for some good numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cactus League drew 1,695,480 fans to stadiums in 2025, and in 2023 generated $418.5 million for Arizona\u2019s gross domestic product; $710.2 million in statewide economic impact, according to a survey by the Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University\u2019s W.P. Carey School of Business.<\/p>\n
The Cactus League is once again partnering with ASU for another full economic impact study for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to do a survey on the concourse, and really get a good feel for who\u2019s coming, where they\u2019re coming from, how long they\u2019re staying and where they\u2019re visiting,\u201d Binsbacher said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have some good information early this fall.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just Ohtani and the Dodgers who bring all the Japanese tourists to the Cactus League. The White Sox made a big splash in free agency, signing third baseman and slugger Munetaka Murakami from Japan. He is already making a cultural impact with the team and the fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to see,\u201d White Sox assistant general manager Josh Barfield said. \u201cWe\u2019re so excited to have him out here and he already is having a great impact here with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The White Sox, who finished last in the American League Central last year and drew one of the worst attendance figures in baseball, are trying to boost their chances to compete for a playoff spot and increase attendance by signing the Japanese slugger.<\/p>\n
A lot of the Japanese superstars will be departing in late February to go to Japan when the World Baseball Classic starts on March 5 across four international locations: LoanDepot Park in Miami, Daikin Park in Houston, the Tokyo Dome in Japan and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Miami will host quarterfinals and the championship rounds.<\/p>\n
Before that happens, some of the WBC teams will visit the Cactus League for exhibition games against MLB teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways so excited for international baseball,\u201d Binsbacher said. \u201cThe WBC this year is bringing five countries and that again puts us on a global stage. It will draw fans, just based on, you know, history has told us that people are definitely interested in those teams and following their teams. We couldn\u2019t afford to buy that kind of coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with having Ohtani, the Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series and will look to win a third consecutive title which is something no team has accomplished since the Yankees did so from 1998 to 2000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s another great example of international exposure when you have a player like Shohei Ohtani,\u201d Binsbacher said. \u201cThat\u2019s just all the buzz surrounding the Dodgers and what that means in the way of bringing Japanese media and fans.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each time Shohei Ohtani steps onto a Cactus League field, thousands of Japanese tourists and media are present,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2406],"tags":[78114,5,78113,5250,39,1165,4332,4333,774,57,3224,4331,4,468],"class_list":{"0":"post-599473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-dodgers","8":"tag-arizona-office-of-tourism","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-bridget-binsbacher","11":"tag-cactus-league","12":"tag-dodgers","13":"tag-la","14":"tag-la-dodgers","15":"tag-ladodgers","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","18":"tag-losangeles","19":"tag-losangelesdodgers","20":"tag-mlb","21":"tag-shohei-ohtani"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116152750871103336","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}