Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio yesterday announced that all fans "attending any of the 12 Brewers home games in August will receive a $10 voucher for free concessions, merchandise and game tickets at Miller Park," according to Tom Haudricourt of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Attanasio said, "We wanted to do something meaningful to show our appreciation, and we will strive to provide the best fan experience possible." Vouchers "may be combined and used at any remaining" '13 home game. With attendance "expected to average over 30,000 per game in August, the Brewers expect to distribute more than $3.6 million worth of vouchers." Haudricourt wrote "coincidentally," suspended Brewers LF Ryan Braun is "forfeiting about $3.1 million in pay while suspended." The Brewers are "giving that savings back to their fans, it would appear." Brewers COO Rick Schlesinger said, "We thought it was important to do something. It was Mark's concept, and we are implementing it. It's a recognition by the organization that we feel the fans' pain. We all had high expectations for this year which haven't been met, due to a whole range of things." This is the "first in a series of special fan appreciation initiatives they will unveil during the final two months of the season under an umbrella program known as 'Fans First'" (JSONLINE.com, 7/29). Schlesinger said that the "aim of the promotion is to be completely transparent with fans," and added that the Brewers "will not raise any prices and are allowing fans to combine vouchers that they accumulate throughout the month" (ESPN.com, 7/29).
SHORT-TERM IMPACT: In Milwaukee, Rich Kirchen reported, "Most experts believe the Brewers will avoid a major hit to revenue" due to Braun's suspension. Sports business experts believe that, despite Braun's "previous popularity with fans, most people who attend games are there for the overall experience of the Brewers and Miller Park rather than one star player." AHL Milwaukee Admirals President Jon Greenberg, who formerly was a PR exec with the Brewers, said, "You can't blame the Brewers for what is happening with Ryan Braun at the moment. You can blame Ryan Braun." Greenberg added that because Brewers merchandise featuring Braun's name was a "top seller, the team also will sustain short-term losses in retail sales." However, Greenberg and others predict that fans will "start buying merchandise with the names of emerging stars" such as CF Carlos Gomez, SS Jean Segura and C Jonathan Lucroy (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/26).
RIPPLE EFFECT: ESPN.com's Buster Olney wrote Braun was "the guy they had on marketing campaigns, on signage, on season-ticket drives." Now his "usefulness to them in this capacity may well be compromised through the remainder of his contract, which runs through 2020 -- and it's not like the Brewers can easily acquire or develop another player to be the face of their franchise." Braun is, for "better and worse, currently locked in as the centerpiece of their business." An MLB exec said, "It's a killer for them. Forget the baseball -- it hurts them in a lot of ways" (ESPN.com, 7/29).
