Parker Leavitt

The Republic | azcentral.com

The games don't count, but that isn't stopping some baseball fans from paying hundreds of dollars per ticket to watch Cactus League spring training this March.

While Cactus League attendance was down overall to start the season, weekend games featuring popular teams like the San Francisco Giants or Chicago Cubs are still selling out. That sends fans to third-party ticket brokers like StubHub, where they may be in for a bit of sticker shock.

One seat behind home plate at Scottsdale Stadium was selling for nearly $400 for the Giants and Oakland Athletics game on March 19, according to listings on StubHub. Tickets behind the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout at Camelback Ranch in Glendale on March 25 can fetch around $250 each.

"Some people like to sit in the best in the building, so it does what it does," ticket scalper JC Lewis said while selling outside Mesa's Sloan Park. "A big shot, he wants to be up front. Money is not the issue. People who have the money don't worry about money."

Tommy Abercrombie, a baseball fan from Forth Worth, Texas, didn't seem to flinch at the $400 price he paid for two tickets to watch the Giants and Seattle Mariners on March 11. While vacationing in Arizona for spring break, his family made spring-training baseball a priority.

At $200 a ticket, Abercrombie's second-row seats at Scottsdale Stadium cost more than front-row seats at AT&T Park in San Francisco, the Giants' regular-season home. But the Cactus League, with its intimate setting and beautiful weather, is worth the price, he said.

"You get that perspective of what the players really look like, how big they are," Abercrombie said. "It's totally different from what you see on TV, so it's just a really neat experience."

'Dynamic pricing' means fans pay more

Ticket scalpers have always inflated prices for the most popular teams and dates, but baseball teams have recently followed suit by introducing "dynamic pricing" at the box office. In some cases, that means fans pay double the price on a weekend than on a weekday.

For the March 19 Giants-A's game in Scottsdale, the cheapest tickets are $51 each — and that doesn't even buy you an actual seat. For a family of four to sprawl on the grassy berm beyond the outfield, the tickets would cost nearly $250, including taxes and fees. Bleacher tickets are $71 each.

Two days later, when the Giants and A's play again at Scottsdale Stadium, lawn prices drop to $25, while bleacher seats are $35.

Nearly every Cactus League team uses some form of dynamic pricing, although the Milwaukee Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix are still holding out. The best seats in that stadium cost $27 for any game, and lawn tickets are always $8.

Ticket sales soaring online

Across Major League Baseball's two spring-training leagues — Cactus in Arizona and Grapefruit in Florida — ticket sales are up 21 percent from last year on StubHub, company spokesman Cameron Papp said. The average spring-training ticket on StubHub is selling for about $50, he said.

The leagues are evenly split with 15 teams each, but three of StubHub's five top-selling ballclubs play in Arizona, Papp said. The Giants are No. 1, followed by the Cubs (2) and Dodgers (5). The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, both in the Grapefruit League, rank third and fourth respectively.

Four out of the five top-selling spring-training games are also in the Cactus League, according to Papp. The Giants at Dodgers on March 25 is best in the Cactus League so far, followed by the A's at Giants on March 19, Papp said.

How much will fans pay?

The success of online brokers like StubHub has made it more difficult for scalpers selling "on the walk," or outside the stadium gates, Lewis said.

"The computer took over a lot," he said. "It's the same thing all over the country. Same thing even with the mail. We do it online; it's easier."

So Lewis, who travels to Arizona from California's Bay Area each year for spring training, now runs his business over the Internet and in person. Either way, the key is to follow the winners, he said.

"Everybody likes winning," Lewis said while selling Cubs tickets on March 4. "That's the problem with Donald Trump right now. He's a winner. It's interesting with that kind of character though. You have to be very careful."

The Cubs are a popular pick to win the World Series this year, which would be their first since 1908. Fans responded by setting a new single-game attendance record on opening day. Just three hours before game time, tickets were selling online for around $100, more than double face value.

"It's like you're playing the stock market and got to know which one is hot," Lewis said. "But that's the business. That's America for you. That's what's so beautiful about it."

For some fans, prices may climb to a point where they choose to sit out and wait for the regular season, when games actually matter in the standings.

Cubs fan Gerard Brokerhof, of Gilbert, paid $40 for his ticket along the third-base line at Sloan Park. That's about $5 more than he paid last year, he said.

"It is kind of expensive," he said. "You're going to a pre-season game ... it's got to the point where it's about maxed out. I don't know how much more you can gouge a group."

Where to find the value

If you time it right — on a weekday, avoiding the most popular teams — you can still find a good deal in the Cactus League.

Arizona Diamondbacks fan Melissa Housmyer did just that on a Wednesday at Salt River Fields, paying $35 for a seat four rows behind home plate against the San Diego Padres.

"I like to be up close and personal," said Housmyer, who lives in North Dakota. "You can see how the players are hitting and watch their form. You can hear what's happening."

Anyone can hear the thunderous crack of a home run or festive organ music between innings, but fans behind home plate are treated to a more subtle soundtrack.

The scrape of cleats digging into the batter's box. Words exchanged between a player and umpire. A coach's instructions barked from the dugout.

"I still think it's a great value for the money," Housmyer said. "For the time you're here, the relaxation. There's a lot of worse things you could spend $35 on in a minute."

Lawn tickets typically provide the least-expensive option at Cactus League ballparks. You can sit on the berm at Maryvale, Goodyear, Peoria and Surprise for just $8. Lawn seats at Camelback Ranch start at $9.