The 160 minor league teams in the United States and Canada that are affiliated with MLB clubs collectively generated an all-time high $60.3 million in 2014 through the sale of apparel, headwear and novelties, according to data obtained by SportsBusiness Journal and scheduled to be released by Minor League Baseball this week.
That total is up 9 percent from 2013 ($55.4 million) and surpasses the previous high of $60 million that was generated in 1994. It also is the fifth straight year MiLB has seen its merchandise sales increase.
Much of those sales came from teams at the top of the minor league hierarchy.
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The Charlotte Knights moved into a new ballpark in 2014 and into the top 25 in merchandise sales.
Photo by: HUNTLEY PATON
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A SportsBusiness Journal analysis of MiLB’s data shows that a record 13 Class AAA clubs made the list of the 25 teams with the most merchandise sales last year. There were 10 AAA teams on the list for 2013 sales, matching the average of 10 AAA teams per year that appeared on the list annually between 2004 and 2013.
The Class AAA Charlotte Knights, for example, made the list last year for the first time since 1994 and only the third time ever. In April 2014, the club moved into its new $54 million BB&T Ballpark in downtown Charlotte after spending the previous 25 years in Fort Mill, S.C., 20 miles away. The International League club went on to lead MiLB in attendance in 2014, drawing a team-record 687,715 fans.
As part of the ballpark move, the Knights underwent a total rebranding, and the team’s merchandise sales increased sevenfold compared with 2013. The resulting sales even exceeded the club’s preseason projections by 25 percent, according to internal data provided to SportsBusiness Journal by the team. In addition, 94 percent of those sales occurred at the ballpark, which boasts a 2,500-square-foot team store. Merchandise made up 8 percent of the team’s total revenue in 2014, up from 2 percent in 2013, according to data provided by the team.
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Fans have embraced the El Paso Chihuahuas, moving the team to the top 25 in merchandise sales.
Photo by: IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE / EL PASO CHICHUAHUAS
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The newest Class AAA franchise, the Pacific Coast League’s El Paso Chihuahuas, also made the top 25 list after moving into their new $72 million Southwest University Park in 2014 following two lame-duck seasons in Tucson, Ariz.
“This city has totally embraced us,” said El Paso general manager Brad Taylor. “Every game is like going to an NFL game: Every fan is wearing some sort of Chihuahua-branded item.”
The Chihuahuas are an affiliate of the San Diego Padres, one of two MLB clubs to have three farm teams on the 2014 MiLB list. The Padres’ other high sellers for 2014 were the Lake Elsinore Storm and the Fort Wayne TinCaps.
The Cleveland Indians also had three 2014 affiliates on the list: the Columbus Clippers, Akron RubberDucks and Carolina Mudcats.
| TEAM (LEVEL) |
YEARS IN TOP 25* |
| Akron RubberDucks (AA) |
9 |
| Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA) |
10 |
| Birmingham Barons (AA) |
4 |
| Carolina Mudcats (A Advanced) |
17 |
| Charlotte Knights (AAA) |
3 |
| Columbus Clippers (AAA) |
5 |
| Corpus Christi Hooks (AA) |
10^ |
| Dayton Dragons (A) |
10 |
| Durham Bulls (AAA) |
22^ |
| El Paso Chihuahuas (AAA) |
1^ |
| Fort Wayne TinCaps (A) |
8 |
| Indianapolis Indians (AAA) |
13 |
| Lake Elsinore Storm (A Advanced) |
17 |
| Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA) |
7^ |
| Louisville Bats (AAA) |
6 |
| Quad Cities River Bandits (A) |
1 |
| Portland Sea Dogs (AA) |
22^ |
| Reno Aces (AAA) |
6^ |
| Richmond Flying Squirrels (AA) |
5^ |
| Rochester Red Wings (AAA) |
16 |
| Sacramento River Cats (AAA) |
15^ |
| Salt Lake Bees (AAA) |
9 |
| Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) |
20 |
| Trenton Thunder (AA) |
21^ |
| Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (A) |
17 |
Notes: Teams are listed alphabetically. Rankings and team-specific sales data were not available. Teams in bold were not in the top 25 for 2013 sales. The teams that fell out of the top 25 from that 2013 list are the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and Round Rock Express (both AAA); the Midland RockHounds, Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Reading Fightin Phils (all AA); and the Lakewood BlueClaws (A), Lansing Lugnuts (A), Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A Advanced) and Hillsboro Hops (A Short Season)
* Since 1993, the first season MiLB began tracking sales data.
^ Ranked every year of team's existence and/or every season since 1993, the first year MiLB began tracking sales data.
Source: Minor League Baseball
San Diego-based Brandiose handled the rebranding of both the Knights and the Chihuahuas as well as the RubberDucks, who played as the Aeros before 2014. The Aeros had been among MiLB’s top sellers in each of their first eight seasons of play, 1997-2004, but the team had not appeared on the MiLB list since that time.
Also returning to the list after a long absence are the Birmingham Barons, the Chicago White Sox’s Class AA club. The Barons made the list for the first time since 1996, a period when Michael Jordan’s 1994 stint with the team kicked off a three-year merchandise run.
The 2014 list is also notable for the absence of several clubs that have been on in the past. The Class AAA Round Rock Express (14 years on the list) and Class A Lakewood BlueClaws (13 years) both failed to make the list for the first time in their respective histories. The Class A Lansing Lugnuts (16 years) and Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans (nine years) were other regulars who fell off in 2014.
Additionally, the Hillsboro Hops, who in 2013 became the first Class A Short Season club to make the list since 2008, did not repeat their inaugural-season success.
Looking ahead to this summer’s potential merchandise sales opportunities, the Class AA Biloxi Shuckers replaced the Huntsville Stars (who never appeared on the top 25 list) in the Southern League. The Shuckers’ new stadium, MGM Park, is scheduled to open this weekend.
Also, the Chicago Cubs ended their 22-year affiliation with the Class A Advanced Florida State League Daytona franchise following the 2014 season. The Daytona Cubs never made the top 25 list. The Cincinnati Reds took over that affiliation and renamed the club the Daytona Tortugas. The Cubs, meanwhile, signed a four-year player-development agreement with the Class A South Bend Silver Hawks (whose only appearance on the list came in 1997) and rebranded that team as the South Bend Cubs. Similarly, the Los Angeles Dodgers purchased the Class AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks and changed that team’s name to the Dodgers. It is a strategy that bears watching, because other than the Class AAA Pawtucket Red Sox, who have made the list 15 times, MiLB clubs that share a name with a parent team have rarely made the list of top merchandise sellers through the years.
Instead, the annual list, including this year, typically features teams with monikers unique from MLB clubs — and from any other teams across sports.
