MLB Franchise Notes: Padres Refocus On Season-Ticket Holders

Padres Restoring Bobbleheads To Their Giveaway Schedule

In San Diego, Tim Sullivan wrote promotional giveaways are an "important prong of the Padres' new season-ticket strategy," as Padres Vice Chair & CEO Jeff Moorad's management team is "trying to restore flagging attendance by rebuilding individual relationships with fans, by responding to their feedback and, not incidentally, by restoring bobbleheads to the giveaway schedule." Moorad noted that the team's season-ticket base "fell from 15,000 to 9,000" from '08 to '09. Moorad: "They want to see more bobbleheads and they want to make sure they can get them if they miss them." The Padres also will assign a "personal service representative" to each season-ticket holder. Moorad said when he left the D'Backs as General Partner & CEO in February, the team "had 23 sales and service people" in the ticketing department, while the Padres only had three such staffers upon his arrival (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/26).

HOME ON THE RANGE: In Ft. Worth, Anthony Andro reports the Rangers drew 37,905 fans yesterday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for their regular-season home finale against the Rays, giving the team a total attendance of 2,156,016 through 78 home dates. Three home dates "were lost because of rainouts." The Rangers' average attendance of 27,641 is "more than 3,000 per game more than last season, the biggest per-game jump" in MLB (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/28). Meanwhile, Rangers Owner Tom Hicks said he will "have something done before next season" regarding hs ownership status (CNBC, 9/25). In Boston, Nick Cafardo wrote if the prospective ownership group led by White Sox Special Assistant to the Chair and former MLB agent Dennis Gilbert acquires the team, there will be "no shortage of baseball people wanting to work for him." Gilbert has done "tremendous work for professional scouts and has donated and raised a lot of money" for MLB's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program. Gilbert would have "instant credibility" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/27).

CATERING TO EVERYONE: The Dodgers' efforts to market the game to female fans was examined by ABC's Stephanie Sy, who noted the team has had "Knitting Night" and conducted yoga classes in the outfield because "ladies bring in the bucks." Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt, who created the marketing effort, said, "The main strategy was, 'Let's figure out how to integrate women into baseball and baseball into their lives and make it fun.'" Sy noted women make up “more than 45% of MLB fans, more than any other professional sport." The initiative seems “much less about girl power and much more about purchasing power.” Sy: “Just check out all the supposedly 'female-friendly' merchandise in the gift shop, all of it drenched in pink" ("World News," ABC, 9/27).

DESERT DIP: In Phoenix, Nick Piecoro reports the D'Backs drew 2,128,907 fans this season at Chase Field, down 15.2% from last season and the "third-lowest total in franchise history." D'Backs President & CEO Derrick Hall said that the "subsequent loss in revenues will not prevent the team from at least maintaining the same payroll level for next season" of about $73M. Hall "hopes to see" a season-ticket renewal rate between 75-80%, and he said that the team "already is about 67[%] renewed from its approximately 12,000 season-ticket holders." The D'Backs are "not raising season-ticket prices" for next season (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/28).