Royals Execs Say Team Must Give Community Royal Treatment

	Royals To Focus On Casual Fans

Royals Senior VP/Business Operations Mark Gorris "expects attendance to finish near" 1.6 million, which would represent "only a modest decline" from last year's total of 1,677,915, according to Bob Dutton of the K.C. STAR, who notes for the Royals to reach 1.6 million, they must average 16,989 fans for their remaining home games. They currently average 20,784 per game. Dutton writes, "So it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that the Royals plan to aim a large portion of their off-season marketing toward casual fans who pay scant attention to the standings." Royals VP/Marketing & Communications Charlie Seraphin: "There is a large number of people who are casual baseball fans. They love baseball because they know it from their childhood, but they aren't the people who come out to 20-plus games a year. They come out now and then to a game." Gorris: "We've got to connect more with the community. I really want to see us out there with youth baseball — at the Little League level and at the high schools." Gorris also "wants to increase the emphasis on corporate sponsorships." Gorris said, "For whatever reason, the Royals have not made enough of an effort to get to know the key people in these corporations. There is a lot of courting that goes on in major-league baseball. If you want to land the deals that are worth $300,000 or $500,000 or a million-plus, you've got to work on those for a long time" (K.C. STAR, 8/21).