Triple-A Int'l League Charlotte Knights VP & COO Dan Rajkowski said that events at the club's new $54M BB&T Ballpark such as the ACC baseball tournament, MLB exhibitions, concerts and rentals of club areas "will all help the bottom line," according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Some prices for seating at the venue "have been finalized," and of the "987 club seats, including access to an indoor lounge and bar area, 170 in the upper level require a five-year commitment and cost $41 per game, or $2,952 for the 72-game season." The remaining 817 club seats, at the "home-plate level, sell for $21 per game, or $1,512 per season." Home-plate club seats "require a minimum purchase of three or five years." Box seats, which "account for the rest of the stadium, other than outfield and berm areas, cost $10.50 per game, or $756 per season." Each season ticket "requires a commitment of two or four years." Club seats "go on sale this week." The stadium also "features 22 suites, with 17 to be leased on an annual basis with terms of seven and 10 years." About 70% of the suites have "been sold for $15,000 to $50,000, depending on whether they are shared with other tenants and whether food is included." Consultants estimate attendance will "surpass 600,000 in an uptown stadium." Based on those projections, revenue "would reach" $10-12M annually, up from $3.5M at the franchise’s current home in Ft. Mill, S.C. The team this week also "added two full-time sales staff members to work uptown and focus on the new ballpark." Rajkowski said that Ovations, the club's current concessionaire, will "stay with the team in Charlotte." Merchandise sales will "improve not just from larger crowds, but also from a logo and color overhaul now under way" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 5/28).
