All-Star Game Lets Teams Build Fan Base For Several Years

Hosts Utilizing All-Star Game To Solidify Ticket Base

MLB teams are using the All-Star Game “to solidify their fan base for several seasons, not just the year of the event,” according to a sports section Cover Story by USA TODAY’s Mike Dodd, who notes Tigers season-ticket sales have increased 48.5% over the last two years leading up to tonight’s game. The Tigers sold more than 11,000 season-ticket equivalent plans this year, up from 7,400 in ’03, and they expect to draw close to 2.2 million fans this year, “which would be the highest” since 2.5 million fans during Comerica Park’s opening year of ’00. Fans who committed to partial season-ticket packages of at least 21 games for ’04 and ’05 “were guaranteed the opportunity to buy All-Star tickets,” including Sunday’s Futures Game and last night’s Home Run Derby, and the team sold over 14,000 of those packages. Tigers VP/Ticket Sales Bob Raymond said, “We were able to leverage the All-Star tickets with our season ticket packages for two years.” Dodd reports the Pirates, who will host next year’s All-Star Game, have seen a 21% increase in season-ticket sales this season. Pirates VP/Marketing & Sales Tim Schuldt said that the team is offering All-Star tickets “to fans who commit to 40-game packages for 2006 and ’07 or to 20-game packages the next three years.” They are also offering extra tickets to suite and premium seat holders “who renew for five years” (USA TODAY, 7/12).

BACK TO NORMAL: In a separate piece, Dodd notes MLB has awarded the next two All-Star Games to Pittsburgh and S.F., in efforts to “showcase baseball’s new stadiums.” However, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said that he “probably will return to the every-other-year rotation” between NL and AL cities after ’07. Selig said the ’08 All-Star Game would go to an AL city “if I had to guess today” (USA TODAY, 7/12).

GIANT PLANS: In S.F., Tom FitzGerald reported fans will not “be able to buy All-Star Game tickets from the Giants unless they are current season-ticket holders and unless they renew for the 2007 season.” Giants Exec VP & COO Larry Baer noted that when MLB awarded the game to S.F. last year, the team “had no idea when [LF Barry] Bonds would retire.” Baer added that it was “made clear to [MLB] officials that the seven-year purchase plans” that protect the price of season tickets “would be up” leading into the event (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/10).