When Cactus League Season Runs in Mesa
Spring training in the Phoenix metro area, known as the Cactus League, typically opens in mid-February with the first exhibition games and runs through late March, when teams break camp for opening day. Exact dates shift slightly year to year based on the MLB schedule, so always confirm current dates on the official Cactus League and team schedules before booking flights. The bulk of the schedule, and the games that draw the biggest crowds, tend to fall in the back half of February into mid-March.
Mesa is unusual among Cactus League cities because it hosts two full spring training complexes rather than sharing a single stadium with another market. That density is part of why baseball fans use Mesa as a home base for a broader Cactus League trip rather than just a single-game stop.
Sloan Park and the Chicago Cubs
Sloan Park is the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs and one of the larger, more amenity-heavy facilities in the Cactus League circuit. The complex includes the main stadium along with practice fields where fans can often watch team workouts on non-game mornings, which is a good lower-key alternative if single-game tickets for the stadium itself are sold out. Cubs spring training games in Mesa are consistently among the best-attended in the league, so plan on buying tickets well before you travel rather than assuming you can walk up.
Because Sloan Park draws such a large traveling fan base, the surrounding area gets busy on game days, with restaurants and hotels nearby seeing a seasonal bump. If your trip is centered on Sloan Park specifically, look at lodging within a short drive so you're not fighting game-day traffic patterns twice.
Hohokam Stadium and the Athletics
Hohokam Stadium, on the other side of Mesa, is the spring training home of the Athletics, who dropped the "Oakland" name when the franchise began playing its MLB home games in Sacramento ahead of an eventual move to Las Vegas. It's a smaller, more old-school Cactus League venue than Sloan Park, and it tends to have an easier ticket market and a more relaxed, walk-up-friendly atmosphere for most regular-season spring games. That makes Hohokam a good option if you want the spring training experience without competing for tickets against a huge national fan base.
The stadium sits closer to central and downtown Mesa than Sloan Park, which means it's an easier fit if you're also planning to spend time around the Main Street light rail corridor during the same trip.
Getting Tickets Early
Cactus League tickets, especially for Cubs games at Sloan Park and any marquee interleague matchups, move quickly once single-game tickets go on sale, which is typically in the winter before the season starts. Season and group ticket packages sometimes open even earlier. If your travel dates are flexible, check both teams' official ticket pages and the Cactus League's own site as soon as schedules are published, and be ready to buy rather than wait.
If you're set on a specific date and the primary market is sold out, verified resale marketplaces are generally a safer bet than unofficial listings. Whichever route you take, buy from the team or a recognized platform rather than an unverified secondary seller.
Parking and Light Rail Access
Parking at both Sloan Park and Hohokam Stadium is available on-site or nearby for a fee on game days, and it fills up as first pitch approaches, so arriving well ahead of the scheduled start is worth it if you want a close spot. Rideshare drop-off zones are typically well marked at both venues and can be a good option to skip the parking lot entirely.
Mesa's light rail line, which connects into the broader Valley Metro system, runs through downtown Mesa and can be a useful way to reach games near the Main Street corridor without a car, particularly for Hohokam Stadium's side of town. Sloan Park sits farther from the current light rail alignment, so check the latest route map and station list before counting on transit for that stadium specifically.
Pairing Mesa With Other Cactus League Parks
One advantage of basing a trip in Mesa is how close it sits to the rest of the Cactus League map. Spring training stadiums for other MLB teams are spread across the East Valley, Scottsdale, and the West Valley, and many fans build multi-game itineraries hopping between two or three ballparks over a long weekend. Mesa's central East Valley location and its own two stadiums make it a reasonable anchor point for that kind of trip, especially if you're also using a Phoenix basecamp for flights and additional lodging options.
Give yourself buffer time between games at different stadiums, since Valley freeway traffic can be unpredictable on weekend game days, and afternoon games in particular can run long.
Where to Stay for a Spring Training Trip
Because both Sloan Park and Hohokam Stadium draw heavy seasonal demand, Mesa hotel rates and availability tighten up considerably during peak Cactus League weeks, especially around Cubs home games. Booking a few months ahead, rather than a few weeks, gives you meaningfully more options and generally better rates. If you want more detail on which part of Mesa to base yourself in depending on which ballpark and activities matter most to your trip, see our full lodging breakdown.