SCOTT PAULUS MLB Commissioner Bud Selig often talks about the sport’s heightened sensitivity to economic conditions with regard to its ticket pricing. Todd Taylor, new executive vice president of ticket sales and marketing for the Texas Rangers, is among those directly on the front lines trying to keep the sport affordable to the masses and prove Selig’s claim while still building team revenue.
Taylor, who spent four years in a similar role with the Milwaukee Brewers before his move late last year to Texas, helped lead the Brew Crew to three straight franchise attendance records from 2007 to 2009, including two seasons that were the team’s first ever surpassing 3 million in home attendance. And nearly all of this was achieved during the brunt of the Great Recession.
Taylor achieved the results in part through an aggressive series of promotions and offers, such as a joint ticket offer with the neighboring Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League and a similar partnership with Summerfest, Milwaukee’s popular annual music festival. The Brewers also perennially ranked among baseball’s leaders in group sales under Taylor.
“The important thing was to stay very fan-focused and put a big emphasis on fan retention,” Taylor said. “We knew early on, for example, that we were not going to have a big bump in new sales after we got CC Sabathia and went to the playoffs [in 2008]. So we put our energies very strongly into retention and fan experience.”
After working in smaller markets such as Milwaukee, Columbus and Portland, the Ohio native is now eager to test his theories in the larger market of the Dallas metroplex. Taylor is now a key part of the rebuilt Rangers front office under President and CEO Nolan Ryan, with ticket sales already up strongly for the coming 2011 season.
“This is a special opportunity, and Chuck [Greenberg, recently departed managing partner] and Nolan are allowing a lot of things to happen,” Taylor said. “The Rangers had a magical run last year [winning the AL pennant]. But we’re committed to long-term sustainability.”
Age: 39
Title: Executive vice president, ticket sales and marketing
TEAM: Texas Rangers
Education: Ohio State University, 1995
Family: Wife, Jennifer; sons, Keenan (9) and Ian (3); daughter, Brynn (7)
Career: Safeway Packaging, 1996-98; senior account executive, Columbus Blue Jackets, 1998-2000; Blue Jackets’ director of ticket sales, 2000-03; Blue Jackets’ vice president of ticket sales, 2003-04; vice president of ticket sales and service, Portland Trail Blazers, 2004-06; vice president of consumer marketing, Milwaukee Brewers, 2006-10; joined the Rangers in 2010
Last vacation: Minnesota and South Dakota for my daughter — a family driving adventure inspired by the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder |
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What's on your iPod? Nearly 5,000 songs —
all over the board
Guilty pleasure: College bowl season — a
good amount of couch time from early December to mid-January
Best stress release: Listening to music
Pet peeve: Entitlement mentality and the fallacy
of fairness
Greatest achievement: Landing my first job
with the Blue Jackets by launching a creative self-
marketing campaign aimed at John Christie (then
point for the Blue Jackets’ ownership group)
Fantasy job: Scientist who discovers the cure for type 1 diabetes
Business advice: Work hard, stay positive and make the most of your opportunities. |
