The Fort Myers spring training season has come to a close, with the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins drawing in over 245,000 fans to their respective stadiums. The Red Sox, who play at JetBlue Park, reported a total attendance of 129,801, while the Twins, who play at Hammond Stadium, drew 115,882 fans despite one rainout.
Overall, the Florida Grapefruit League saw a total of 1.4 million fans attending 226 spring training games over the course of 32 days, with an average of 6,319 fans per game. This places the Red Sox and Twins in the top four of MLB teams in terms of spring training attendance in Florida.
The Florida Sports Foundation, the state’s sports promotion and development organization, compiles and verifies the attendance figures for all spring training games in the state. The Lee County Sports Development and Lee County Parks & Recreation play a crucial role in supporting the spring training efforts, with assistance from the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. The county’s tourist tax helps cover the debt service and major maintenance on the stadiums.
As the spring training season wraps up, players like Pablo Reyes of the Red Sox were seen interacting with fans and signing autographs, adding to the excitement and fan engagement of the season. The success of the Red Sox and Twins in drawing in fans highlights the popularity and importance of spring training in Fort Myers.