The game that unfolded at Turner Field on the first sun-splashed Sunday afternoon of last season looked like many from previous years, with John Smoltz cutting his way through a lineup as fans cheered and chopped.
Only this time, the ballpark looked and felt more alive.
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Top of the Chop, an open-air bar on the roof of
Turner Field’s restaurant, is a popular gathering point
for fans to congregate and mingle. |
There was the world’s largest high-definition video board, as certified by Guinness. There was a new, interactive Cartoon Network playground for children. And, beyond the wall in right field, there was, well, another new playground, but for bigger children.
This one served beer.
The Braves opened Top of the Chop, a vast, open-air bar on the roof of their ballpark restaurant last season in the hope of enhancing their position with the throng of young singles in Atlanta. It’s a place to see and be seen first and watch the game second, a way-cool spot in which to congregate and mingle.
Other ballparks and arenas have similar draws. Few have as large a pool of 18-34s from which to draw.
About 25.5 percent of Atlanta residents fall into the 18-34 bracket, giving it the highest percentage of young adults of any U.S. sports market that’s home to more than one major league team. Salt Lake City and Raleigh have higher percentages, but they’re much smaller cities. Dallas and Houston trail Atlanta by a sliver (see chart at left).
The Braves’ fan base also skews young. The average age of those who attended Braves games last year was 37, Schiller said. That compares to an MLB average of about 45.
“Atlanta is a place where many people come for their first job and a city that many relocate to early in their careers,” said Derek Schiller, the Braves’ senior vice president of sales and marketing. “It can be a challenging market as a result of the transient nature of the population. But that’s a welcome challenge, because those people are looking to figure out a connection to the city. They want to have something that says ‘I’m now an Atlantan.’ We believe the Atlanta Braves define what it means to be an Atlantan.”
The 14 consecutive NL division championships and the vast reach of the Superstation would lead you to expect that. But a steadily shrinking crowd had to make you wonder. Braves attendance declined for seven consecutive seasons after the team opened Turner Field, falling from a record 3.5 million in 1997 to 2.3 million in 2004, with season-ticket sales plummeting from about 25,000 to about 15,000.
Two years ago, Braves management decided to take a closer look at the market and figure out why fans weren’t coming to as many games. Surveys led them to divide spectators into five categories: avid, casual, families, entertainment seekers and corporate. Considering what motivated each of those groups, they decided that their best chance for growth came among casuals and entertainment seekers. Those also were the two segments that skewed youngest.
The Braves put more resources into attracting and retaining a younger crowd. As part of a $15 million renovation of Turner Field, they expanded the already popular Chop House bar and grill, creating a look reminiscent of the rooftops packed with young partiers across the street from Wrigley Field.
“We saw that the Chop House was always full, no matter what the attendance,” Schiller said. “So we capitalized on that brand and what it means to the 21- to 34-year-old crowd. We had to build that out.”
The club also pumped up its mobile marketing efforts, sending a truck with inflatables to events that were popular with the demos that they were targeting. This month, they sent the BAT (Braves Around Town) mobile to the Dogwood Festival, an event crawling with 18-34s. The BAT mobile comes armed with the direct marketer’s essential “call to action” — ticket promotions meant to drive “casuals” and “entertainment seekers” to the park.
Based on last year’s crowds, the plan seems to be working. The Braves increased attendance by 8 percent. They sold 1.2 million single-game tickets, up from about 900,000. It’s the most they’ve sold since moving to Turner Field.
“The 18-34 will purchase a more expensive ticket if they believe the experience is justifiable,” Schiller said. “The old-school assumption was that the 21-year-old will buy the least expensive ticket. I don’t think that’s the case if you can prove to them that they’re getting something for their money.”
As evidence, Schiller points to the young singles who populate the 755 Club, which includes a restaurant and a sports bar and carries a membership fee of $500 a year. Two years ago, the Braves added outdoor seating, which was so popular that they’ve added two more levels of it this year.
“It’s the coolest, hippest place at Turner Field,” Schiller said. “The people filling up those patios are the 21-34 crowd that will sit there with friends and pay to be in that environment because 755 has some prestige to it, and it’s membership only.”
