Drop In Attendance Forcing Teams To Rethink Ways To Draw Fans
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Tigers Are Seeing A Drop Of Nearly 10,000
Fans Per Game Compared To '08 Season |
MLB attendance being down 4.7% from the '08 season is largely being attributed to the current economy, and USA TODAY takes a look at "five facets of the attendance issue." USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes the "best way to get people to the ballpark hasn't changed: winning." The defending World Series champion Phillies have "already drawn more than 725,000 fans this season, tops in baseball," while the Rays have had their attendance increase to 26,413 fans a game, the "biggest increase in baseball." The Brewers this season also have "sold out half of their home games" and are averaging 36,581 fans, up from last year. Brewers Exec VP/Business Operations Rick Schlesinger: "Just winning, getting to the playoffs was the best marketing we had all offseason. We've had a 20% jump in our season-ticket base to about 27,000, an all-time high." Meanwhile, the Tigers and D'Backs are "getting different results at the ballpark" amid specific local economic hardships. Detroit's auto industry "is in shambles," and the Tigers are seeing a drop of nearly 10,000 fans per game from '08. However, despite the Phoenix housing market having "hit the skids," the D'Backs are "holding steady ... averaging 28,205 per game," less than 1% less than last season.
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING: Nightengale reports Team Shop Premiums General Partners Scott Nash and Bob Nanberg and Account Exec Jason Kubik "sit in their Phoenix office each day brainstorming ideas to boost attendance at sporting events." They work with eight MLB teams on fan promotions, and Nanberg said, "Teams are asking us all of the time, 'Give us something new. Give us something fresh. And we want to beat everyone else doing it.'" The Giants for their April 21 game against the Padres brought in boxer Manny Pacquiao to "throw out the first pitch on Filipino-American Heritage Night" and handed out Pacquiao bobblehead dolls to fans. The attendance for the game was 39,314, which was "swelled by a walk-up crowd of 11,000." Nanberg said that the Angels have "offered retro alarm clocks, with plans of handing out of salt and pepper shakers in 2010," while the Astros are "giving out a crystal replica of [Minute Maid Park] this month to commemorate its 10th anniversary."
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Twenty Nine MLB Teams Allow Fans To Bring
Some Type Of Food Or Drink Into Ballparks |
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A review of MLB team Web sites indicated that "at least 21 of 30 [MLB] clubs allow fans to bring some food and drink items to ballparks," while eight more allow fans to "bring their own bottled water." Only the Astros prohibit "all outside food and drink." A's VP/Sales & Marketing Jim Leahey: "Obviously, we're in business to promote our products -- including our food. However, we'd rather folks come to the game than not come at all. If that means bringing their own food, we're certainly OK with that." USA TODAY's Michael McCarthy notes rules vary for each team, but fans are "generally allowed to bring food in see-through bags, single-serve water and juice boxes ... and soft-sided coolers." All teams ban "anything hard that can be thrown at players," as well as "outside beer and alcoholic beverages."
LUXURY SEATS AT A PREMIUM: Teams are seeing premium seats "going unused" in many ballparks, and while the empty high-priced seats at the two new N.Y. facilities have been well documented, other teams, including the Mariners and Cardinals, are also feeling similar effects. Cardinals VP/Ticket Sales Joe Strohm: "Corporations that maybe bought bulk tickets in those areas are definitely trimming back on their spending. We are marketing those on an individual basis, and we're having some success, but at the end of the day it's still going to be down" (USA TODAY, 5/12).
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