With over 18,000 tickets still available for their home
opener, today could mark the worst opening-day crowd since '80
for the Blue Jays. Jays Dir of Ops George Holm said it will mark
the first time in eight years a Jays opener has not been sold out
(TORONTO SUN, 4/9). The team is marketing a season-long 20th
anniversary salute to combat lingering post-strike bitterness.
Jays Marketing Dir Paul Markle calls it a "creative apology"
(HAMILTON SPECTATOR, 4/9). Jays GM Gord Ash says the team hopes
to average 30,000 a game, "a shocking decline from the days just
a couple of years ago when 52,000 or so was the norm" (David
Shoalts, Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 4/9). Richard Griffin reports
sources say the organization, "worried about its fan-unfriendly
reputation, spent the winter in attitude rehab, at the Paul
Beeston School of Charm" (TORONTO STAR, 4/9).
OTHER MLB NOTES: The White Sox won't have a sellout at
their home opener for the second straight year. The team is
hoping to draw over 35,000 (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/9)....The Tigers
have sold 40,000 tickets for today's opener (DETROIT NEWS,
4/9)....Getting a name change to "Anaheim Angels" was "huge" for
the city, according to Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly. Disney Sports
President Tony Tavares: "Everyone knows who the Angels are. We
don't have to build a brand name" (L.A. TIMES, 4/7)....Northern
VA's chief competition in attracting a team is NC, with two
investors from that area involved in Kevin McClatchy's purchase
of the Pirates. Virginia Baseball's William Collins: "North
Carolina absolutely concerns me. The key is they have the
governor behind them, along with major business players"
(WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/7).
