A new study by Scarborough Sports Marketing of the
level of fan interest in MLB in the U.S.' top 64 markets
found that Cleveland has the highest percentage of avid MLB
fans, followed by St. Louis and Atlanta. Thirty-six percent
of people in Cleveland said that they were avid fans of
baseball, while 31% in St. Louis and 25% in Atlanta said
that they were avid fans. The MLB market with the lowest
percentage of avid baseball fans is Detroit with 6%,
followed by Minneapolis with 8%. The survey of 170,000
adults conducted between August '98-September '99, also
found that 63% of MLB fans are male, 58% are married and 40%
fall between the ages of 35-54 (Scarborough). See (#34).
MARKET NEWS: The Blue Jays "have offered" the Toronto
District School Board 10,000 tickets for the team's home
opener against the Royals next Monday. Blue Jays Dir of
Sales Greg McNamara: "Hopefully, we'll have a sellout for
the opener, or at least 40,000 fans" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL,
3/28)....The D'Backs "are on track to match" last year's
mark of 26,000 season-ticket holders, which ranked third in
MLB. The team's season-ticket renewal rate stands at 94%.
Also, the team's single-game ticket sales are running about
15% ahead of last year's number (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/28).
...The Twins are offering a $99 season-ticket package for
all 81 home games for the second straight year. In K.C.,
Jeffrey Flanagan writes that the promotion "has not made
them popular with other [MLB] teams' marketing folks, who
think the Twins are trying to devalue the entertainment cost
of attending major-league games." A Twins spokesperson
said, "No one has said anything to us personally. But
there've been some snickers about what we're doing. But
we've got to do what's best for us" (K.C. STAR, 3/28).
