The Nationals are expecting a bump in ticket sales and merchandise for tonight’s game against the D’Backs as CF Bryce Harper makes his home debut for the team. Nationals COO Andrew Feffer said it is too early to estimate what the final ticket sales will be, but noted tonight’s game has “the best ticket sales” for the three-game series. Feffer said the team is not doing anything out of the norm from a game-day operations standpoint. Feffer: “He had his debut in (MLB) out in L.A., and it’s a Tuesday night game here in Washington, not a weekend.”
Though the team has had T-Shirts and jerseys with Harper’s name and No. 34 since last season, the expectation is for a bump in sales. Feffer said, “Given that this is his home debut and the excitement around Harper, we will have a significant increase in Harper jersey and name and number (T-shirt) sales.” The Nationals are averaging 24,712 fans per game at Nationals Park this season to date, up 18% compared to the same period last season. Harper's MLB debut came at Dodger Stadium before a sellout crowd.
