Ohtani has triggered a wave of business in season tickets, group tickets, advertising and sponsorshipsGETTY IMAGES
After signing P/OF Shohei Ohtani in the offseason, the Angels are excited not only for his "effect on the team, but for his effect on their business," according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. The Angels "won't say how many more season tickets they have sold" after signing Ohtani in early December. But Angels VP/Communications Tim Mead "acknowledged Ohtani has triggered a wave of business in season tickets, group tickets, advertising and sponsorships." With Japanese fans "poised to follow Ohtani on television, the Angels are expected to announce partnerships with Japanese companies interested in displaying their name on camera-friendly areas at Angel Stadium." Mead said that the Angels "do not plan to put up too many signs in Japanese at the ballpark, and they do not intend to unveil a Japanese food stand ... but they do want to add popular Japanese foods at existing concession stands." Visit Anaheim has consulted with the Angels and is "expected to roll out tour packages that offer Japanese fans the chance to see Ohtani play as well as to visit Disneyland and other Orange County attractions." But the Angels are "reluctant to push Ohtani onto every billboard in Southern California." When Ohtani meets the media for the first time Wednesday, the Angels "will bring him to a nearby hotel, where they have reserved three rooms in a conference center for what they anticipate could be as many as 175 reporters." Meanwhile, Tempe Diablo Stadium is the oldest ballpark in the Cactus League, so the Angels are "scrambling to accommodate the media demand." They have "converted a dining area into one media workroom, and they are erecting a tent behind the right-field wall for another" (L.A. TIMES, 2/12).
