The ritual stings a bit, adding insult to penalty for Colorado Mammoth opponents.
It happened to the San Jose Stealth on Feb. 11. Whenever a Stealth player drew a penalty, public address announcer “Willie B” helped usher the miscreant off the floor by yelling:
 |
Since moving to Denver in 2003, the Mammoth
has sold out the arena 10 times and has
ranked in the top two in league attendance. |
“Hey, number [whatever]: Get …”
And the Pepsi Center sellout crowd of 18,007 finished it off each time, chanting, “in the box!”
By any measure, the National Lacrosse League’s Mammoth is a success in the Mile High City.
The team has ranked in the top two in league attendance since moving to Denver from Baltimore in 2003. The Mammoth ranked second in 2003, averaging 16,488 fans per game; first in 2004 (17,618); second in 2005 (17,035); and is averaging 16,559 this season. It’s sold out 10 games in Denver since 2003. Season-ticket sales have grown from about 3,500 in 2003 to more than 8,000. The team plays eight, regular-season home games each season.
There are plenty of sponsors — 12 who are tied in with the Pepsi Center and another 11 who are specific to the Mammoth. Their constant in-game promotions and loud presence remind you: This ain’t your father’s quiet sports franchise. For example, the Mammoth’s home field displays seven large logos — two each for HealthONE Field, Frontier Airlines and Qwest Communications International, and one each for TCF Bank and The Denver Post.
The team has been profitable all four years, according to General Manager Steve Govett, who declined to give revenue figures. The team and sponsors contacted for this story also declined to reveal sponsorship costs. Govett said ticket sales made up 50 percent of revenue and sponsorships 30 percent, with the rest coming from merchandise, parking and concessions.
 |
Logos of Mammoth and Pepsi Center sponsors
dot the playing field as well as dasher boards. |
Mammoth players make numerous community appearances to teach the sport, and the team shares ticket revenue with lacrosse leagues that help sell seats.
“We’re very fortunate to be in a market that has embraced this product, probably like no other market,” said Paul Andrews, executive vice president of team owner Kroenke Sports Enterprises. “I think they’ve embraced more than just the team; they’ve embraced the product itself. The indoor lacrosse product is very, very entertaining. The electricity in the building is tremendously high.”
Indeed, the noise never stops. Unlike other sports, the public address announcer leads crowd cheers, makes commentary and is hardly neutral. Music continues through play. There are fan skill contests, a dance team called “The Wild Bunch” and a mascot, naturally named “Woolly.” And there are numerous in-game product giveaways, with winners often shown on the scoreboard.
The Mammoth has a built-in advantage over stand-alone league teams: Kroenke also owns the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and Arena Football League’s Colorado Crush, with all four teams playing at the Kroenke-owned Pepsi Center. Kroenke also owns the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, and is building the team a new stadium in nearby Commerce City in a complex that will include dozens of soccer and lacrosse fields. It’s slated to open in 2007.
Kroenke saves money by having its staff handle the majority of team duties for the various teams, such as operations and marketing, although four or five front-office employees are dedicated solely to the Mammoth. Some marketing of the Mammoth takes place on Altitude, the regional sports network owned by Kroenke, while other marketing is spread among radio (rotated between six to eight stations), print ads, billboards, bus shelters and bus sides. Altitude will broadcast eight of the Mammoth’s 16 regular-season games either live or on tape delay.
The Mammoth, with game tickets ranging from $5 to $35, is attractive to those who can’t afford NBA or NHL prices. Tickets for the Nuggets, for example, range from $10 to $385 per game, while Avalanche tickets cost from $23 to $202 per game.
The team has focused on two prime demographics: Families, who are lured by Family Night packages (tickets that include food), and those ages 16-34, “who may have played lacrosse in high school, were looking for the action, a little bit of the violence, the constant entertainment and music,” said Brian Kitts, senior director of marketing for Kroenke. “That doesn’t appeal to all sports purists, but it does appeal to that demographic.”
Tom and Cindy Adair, both 35, have owned season tickets since 2003. Tom Adair is a former lacrosse player. He pays attention to the involvement of sponsors such as Frontier Airlines. “It certainly doesn’t hurt that they support the Mammoth,” he said. “If given the opportunity, we’ll fly with Frontier.”
Troy Hulstrom, 40, owns 22 season tickets through his business. He sells some and gives away others to contractors, friends and relatives. What justifies his $3,500 investment? “It’s excitement, the appreciation for the guys that go out there and put on a big show for us every week,” he said. “They’re just everyday guys like myself.”
What are sponsors getting for their money?
“We like the product they’re delivering; it’s relevant to our message,” said Qwest’s Rich Karlis. “It’s not a branding; it’s more a messaging to a very tech-savvy demographic” — to whom Qwest hopes to sell bundled services.
Frontier Airlines has been with the team from the start, and also partners with the Avalanche, Nuggets and Crush. Its logo is on the Mammoth helmet and jersey; the Frontier Faceoff flashes on the big screen for those plays. Its banners hang in the Pepsi Center’s main atrium from February through April.
“We took a leap of faith signing on as a major presenting sponsor before they [Mammoth] had even played one game,” said Russ Hornbeck, manager, sponsorships and special events with Frontier. “Part of our research is knowing that lacrosse is a growing field, and the number of participants — especially at the youth level — is continuing to grow.”
Before home games, Mammoth players are housed at another sponsor, the Warwick Hotel in downtown Denver. “Just the affiliation with the Pepsi Center and KSE gives credibility to our name and our facility,” said Warwick’s John Wagner. “We also believe word-of-mouth is a strong benefit for us.”
Bruce Goldberg is associate editor at the Denver Business Journal, an affiliated publication.
