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Everyone Meets The Mets: Opener At Citi Field Sets Venue's Attendance Record

The Mets Thursday drew a sellout and Citi Field-record crowd of 42,080 for their season opener, with club officials insisting there was far less chance than suggested in press reports that the Mets would fail to sell out a home opener for the first time since '97. Several promos, including free tickets to certain purchasers for Citi Field games this weekend, were used to help boost attendance for Friday's game, with more than 2,500 tickets sold in the 24 hours prior to the game. There were still some visible chunks of unused seats beyond the right field wall throughout the game. Mets Exec VP/Business Operations Dave Howard said, "The sales numbers over the last four, five days indicated we would be sold out today.” Howard added an attendance uptick for the club remains quite possible this year after three straight annual declines, particularly if the team shows improvement on the field. Howard, referring in part to the Bernie Madoff-related financial woes that enveloped the club prior to last month's legal settlement in a clawback lawsuit, said, "We're now in a good position and are now back on the upswing. A lot of distractions are now behind us. We now get to focus on the core business and the fun stuff" (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).

HONORING A LEGEND: On Long Island, Steven Marcus notes late Baseball HOFer Gary Carter prior to Braves-Mets Thursday was “remembered in a pregame ceremony with a video montage of his career.” Carter was “essentially lionized as the Mets unveiled a unique emblem on the wall in left-center, in the form of home plate.” Mets players will “wear the logo on their uniforms this season.” Players and coaches Thursday also “wore Carter’s No. 8 jersey during batting practice, and Carter’s No. 8 jersey hung in the Mets’ dugout during the game” (NEWSDAY, 4/6).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: April 25, 2024

Motor City's big weekend; Kevin Warren's big bet; Bill Belichick's big makeover and the WNBA's big week continues

TNT’s Stan Van Gundy, ESPN’s Tim Reed, NBA Playoffs and NFL Draft

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp has two Big Get interviews. The first is with TNT’s Stan Van Gundy as he breaks down the NBA Playoffs from the booth. Later in the show, we hear from ESPN’s VP of Programming and Acquisitions Tim Reed as the NFL Draft gets set to kick off on Thursday night in Motown. SBJ’s Tom Friend also joins the show to share his insights into NBA viewership trends.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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