Indians President Mark Shapiro said that the attendance of 25,864 for yesterday's Michigan-Ohio State hockey game at Progressive Field "exceeded that which was required for profitability," according to Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. Shapiro said, "We didn't feel it would be a challenge to get people here. The challenge would be operational: Could we take a building that's normally winterized and turn it on for an event like this? We wanted to provide a unique opportunity at a time when the building normally would be in mothballs." Shapiro said that he and his staff "will evaluate all aspects of the event before determining if some sort of sequel is worth pursuing." If it does happen again, it "might come after a year's hiatus." Shapiro said that he "did not think an NHL game is an option because Cleveland is not an NHL city." Shapiro: "What's important is that we execute this game well" (CLEVELAND.com, 1/15). Shapiro said that the Indians might "consider hosting a hockey game without Snow Days," which was in its second year of operation at the ballpark. He said of Snow Days, "We continued to learn and I think we adjusted and it was very successful as an event that we pulled off. The numbers were a little bit disappointing though. We're going to lose money again this year. That's not the only reason we do the event -- to make money. We're doing it also just to bring people into the ballpark, to utilize the ballpark, to bring people to downtown Cleveland and to build some positive association with the Indians at a time when people wouldn't normally be thinking about baseball" (MLB.com, 1/15).
