With the sale of the Seahawks officially approved by
the NFL, now team execs "need to sell the team to Seattle,"
according to Les Carpenter in the SEATTLE TIMES. Seahawks
Dir of Ticket Sales Donn Bagnall: "We don't want 'It's a
whole new ballgame' to be just another slogan. We want this
to be a whole experience." Carpenter writes that the team
is opening a new ticket office downtown, and is planning
"extravagant tailgate parties outside the stadium." There
is "even talk about bringing bands to play concerts after
the games." Bagnall has hired a telemarketing staff "that
has gotten so big, half of the operation will transfer to
the new downtown office," which opened yesterday. "So far,"
the Seahawks have sold 43,000 season tickets, and Bagnall
hopes to reach 46,000 or 47,000 (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/20).
MORE HAWK TALK: Sharon Baker writes in the PUGET SOUND
BUSINESS JOURNAL that corporate support "is picking up" with
"only" six of 58 unsold luxury suites remaining. The
Seahawks have put a $500,000 media ad "blitz" in newspapers
and on radio and TV, centered around the team's new slogan.
Seahawks Senior VP/Marketing Ops Harry Hutt, who does the
same job for Paul Allen's Blazers, is also "beefing up the
team's exposure" on radio and local TV, signing a deal with
Fox Sports Northwest for preseason games and regular
features one night a week. Northwest Cable News will also
present a coaches show (PUGET BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/18 issue).
NEW REGIME? Seahawks President Bob Whitsitt "said not
to expect sweeping changes in the front office," but he
"remains open" to hiring a "'name' football man" to run the
team on a daily basis (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 8/20).
