March 31 marked the end of Arizona spring training for baseball, also known as the Cactus League. Starting on the last day of February, major league teams flooded the state along with their legions of fans for one month of practice before the regular session.

The Cactus league is made up of 12 major league teams from all divisions, teams such as Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and, of course, the Arizona Diamondbacks. With nine stadiums stretching from the upper west side in Surprise to the south side of Tucson, there have been no shortages of baseball games for fans to attend.

Spring training has been proving ground for minor league players who want to go to the Major League. For some it’s the beginning of their major league career; for others it’s a reminder that there is more that needs to be done. Professional teams hold both a major league camp and a minor league camp that compete against the other major league teams and their minor league affiliates throughout the spring.

The Cactus League has been in existence since the 1947 when the first two teams, the Cleveland Indians and the New York Giants, played their first game at Hi Corbett field in Tucson that spring. Since then, Arizona slowly grew in reputation as being an ideal place for spring training baseball.

This year had the highest average of attendees for the Cactus League. During the more than 100 Cactus League games this year an average of 10,000 attendees were at each game.

This year alone, 1.2 million people have attended Cactus League games and earned a nearly $200 million profit for the state of Arizona. It’s the largest profit Arizona has received from spring training since 2000.

This year’s turnout and economic increase will ensure that the Cactus League’s best days are still to come, and the next two years promise new teams: the return of the Cleveland Indians, who will have a stadium in Goodyear and the introduction of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the stadium being built in Glendale.

The Chicago White Sox also plan to join the Dodgers in Glendale as they will be leaving their current spring facility in Tucson, which they have shared with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the past ten spring training seasons.