First 56 Cactus League Games Canceled Due To MLB Lockout

PHOENIX, AZ —Major League Baseball on Friday announced it has canceled the first week of Spring Training exhibition games due to the owners' lockout of the players. The move means the first 56 scheduled games in Arizona's Cactus League will not be played.

The owners locked out the players on Dec. 2, after the league's collective bargaining agreement expired. Negotiations between MLB and the MLB Players Association continue, but Arizona's ballparks remain quiet. Training camps had been set to open this week, and the first exhibition games were scheduled for Feb. 26.

"We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of Spring Training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5," MLB said in a statement. "All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands."

The statement continued: "We are committed to reaching an agreement that is fair to each side. On Monday, members of the owners' bargaining committee will join an in-person meeting with the Players Association and remain every day next week to negotiate and work hard toward starting the season on time."

The league said fans who purchased tickets to the canceled exhibition games —in both Arizona and Florida —have the option to get full refunds.

The Cactus League, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, released a statement on its website about the loss of revenue for local businesses and the disappointment of the fans that will result from the canceled games.

"Spring Training is a major tourism driver in Arizona, and our stakeholders are counting on a strong 2022 Spring Training season after enduring two COVID-disrupted seasons," the statement said.

The statement continued: "We are disappointed for the many out-of-state fans whose travel plans have been impacted. We don't know when a new labor agreement will be reached. This much we do know: the 10 Cactus League ballparks will be ready to open when needed. During the last two seasons, our facilities have learned to be prepared for unforeseen challenges. We remain hopeful of a settlement and look forward to welcoming the teams and their fans back to Arizona soon."

According to ESPN, talks between the league and players union are expected to intensify next week as the deadline to start the regular season approaches.

The league has said it would prefer about a month of Spring Training, which means camps would need to open by early March in order to begin the regular season on time.

The two sides, according to ESPN, continue to be far apart on a number of issues, including: revenue sharing between the clubs, service time for players to enter the arbitration system, the amount of money in a pre-arbitration bonus pool and the thresholds and penalties for the competitive balance tax.