Posted: 1:00 am Thu, August 14, 2008
By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer
Some say it’s baseball in its purest form. Others say they like to root for the players, many just fresh out of their teenage years, trying to make it to the majors. Still others say it’s an inexpensive family outing where their kids can get a few freebies.
Minor league baseball in Maryland is filled with signature moments like fans shaking their keys in the seventh inning of a Frederick Keys game, lining up at a Bowie Baysox game to collect player autographs, taking in the history at the Hagerstown Suns’ Municipal Stadium or keeping an eye on the kids as they play bumper boats in the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs’ Crabby Cove. But from the business perspective, minor league ball is in many ways an operation far removed from the actual game of baseball.
In a way, it almost seems backward — while the Orioles’ game attendance rises and falls with the team’s on-the-field productivity, general managers of minor league clubs say most of their fans don’t know where the team is in the standings or even the final score of the game they just saw. And, they add, that’s exactly what they’re shooting for.
It’s a strange dichotomy of marketing and running a business in which the owner has no control over the actual products fans watch night in and night out.
“With all the properties, baseball is what’s bringing everybody there, but probably 85, 90 percent of those fans are here for just the experience,” said Aberdeen IronBirds General Manager Aaron Moszer. “Fortunately it’s not predicated off wins and losses.”
In Maryland’s five affiliated minor league teams — the Blue Crabs are an independent team — the players and management are paid by the major league team with which they are affiliated. Double-A Bowie and high Single-A Frederick were purchased from Comcast-Spectacor in 2006 by Maryland Baseball Holding LLC, which also owns the O’s Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides. Seventh Inning Stretch, a California-based company, owns the low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, Ripken Baseball owns and founded the Single-A IronBirds, both O’s affiliates, and Mandalay Sports Entertainment owns the Nationals’ Single-A affiliate Suns.
General managers say the system presents a unique situation compared to other businesses that have total control over what their customers get.
“From a completely business standpoint, I can’t go out in the offseason or sign a player and tell people we’re going to be great this year and win a championship — those things are completely out of our control,” said Chris Bitters, general manager of the Shorebirds.
“Minor league ball as a whole, we can’t hang our hat on that because we can’t control it. So what we do is hang our hat on the fan experience.”
One-stop shop
And whether it’s the little slice of that Camden Yards feel that Aberdeen’s Ripken Stadium offers or relaxing in the lawn seating area beyond the Blue Crabs’ outfield wall, each team’s management strives to make its stadium a one-stop shop for fun and entertainment.
“Baseball is not an afterthought, but it’s just part of the entire outing,” said Baysox General Manager Brian Shallcross. “It’s more about family or friends bonding over a good time.”
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It’s a message that rings true with the fans — even the “hardcore” ones, who most teams say make up about 15 percent of their overall ticket sales. Jerry Bainbridge, 47, an Internet technology analyst by day and the “IronFan” by night, has been a season-ticket holder since Ripken Stadium opened in 2002. Although he dons his homemade cape and hat for every home game, Bainbridge said he just likes to dress up to be part of the entertainment.
“It’s not about winning and losing games,” he said as he watched from his front-row seat behind the IronBirds dugout. “As far as the season goes, I couldn’t tell you how the team’s doing. To me it’s more about watching the players as they’re developing. That’s what we’re here for.”
The sentiment is echoed by many fans, from season-ticket holder Kenneth Sword, 76, who’s made it a point to be the first one inside the gates at every Frederick Keys game since Harry Grove Stadium opened in 1988, to families just looking for an evening out.
“It’s nice because the players actually talk to the kids,” said Chris Molnar, 37, as he, his 9-year-old son Ryan and a friend watched the IronBirds take batting practice.
“They treat them real great and they take the time to talk to them, so it’s a nicer experience for them,” he said.
It’s that character that those who follow the industry say makes minor league baseball’s marketing task unique.
“There’s this perceived downside in the fact that the owner doesn’t have control,” said Dave Whinham, president and CEO of Revolution Enterprises LLC, an Ohio-based company that develops and markets its own minor league sports franchises and leagues. “I think that’s easily overcome when they do a good job of making their shows worth paying to see.”
To that end, marketing individual players — unlike in the big leagues — is almost pointless. As Moszer notes, “You can’t count on the players you have here — part of our job is to develop these guys … to be the next Oriole.”
Occasionally a team can create a buzz around an Oriole rehabbing with one of its affiliates, like when the Keys hosted former O’s shortstop Miguel Tejada last summer. Clubs tend to draw larger crowds on the weekends, but Keys General Manager Dave Ziedelis said Tejada’s first appearance turned an average Thursday night into a nearly sold-out game. But such boosts from all-stars are few and far between and cannot be counted on.
“The other thing we run into is we’re so close to the major league markets, people can drive another 45 minutes to Camden Yards and see all the major league players play,” Ziedelis said.
Control what you can
For the most part, the teams stick to what they can control: the stadium atmosphere and nightly promotions.
“You’ve got to really work to make sure your event is worth paying to see,” said Whinham. “And that’s not only your patrons’ time but their money, and you do that by constantly looking at ways to make your events compelling and not predictable.”
In Hagerstown, General Manager Will Smith said the team had a funeral giveaway one night at a game several years ago, and this month in Bowie, contestants were given spoons to find a diamond ring buried in the Prince George’s Stadium outfield. From the Baysox’ setting the whoopee cushion world record last year to the Blue Crabs’ “Jamaican Me Crazy” night in July, teams run at least one — and often two or three — promotions each night to give fans something else to enjoy besides the game.
While the team general managers said they take care not to cross any moral lines, they believe they are freer than their major league counterparts to get creative in their promotions.
“We’re about the quirkiness, we’re about the fireworks shows and the kids’ zone — that’s what we’re about,” Ziedelis said. “We’re about all that zany goofiness going on and that’s what brings people in to our product. We’re regional, we’re affordable and it’s light fun and it’s all about the families.”
Many fans said the promotions are a nice backdrop to their evenings at the ballpark but don’t necessarily guide their decision to come to a game. But whatever prompts their decision to come out — whether it’s two Pennsylvania residents who came to watch their friend throw the first pitch at a Keys game or young Ryan Molnar who is studying up on his pitching technique — the teams aim to provide an experience that distinguishes them.
The method and cost of getting that image out in public also provides another challenge for the clubs, most of which are not in markets that have a local network television affiliate. Although teams do not release their financial information, Joe Klein, executive director of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, in which the Blue Crabs play, said most small-market teams need to take in about $2 million a year to break even.
The budget makes it impractical for the Blue Crabs, Bowie, Frederick and Aberdeen to afford television advertisements in nearby Baltimore and Washington, and while the teams advertise on radio and in local daily or weekly papers, some team officials say they rely more on direct marketing tactics like going to community fairs and other events. Even in Hagerstown, which has local television stations, Smith said he thinks their money is best spent with radio advertising and direct marketing.
“The best thing that gets us out there is really trying to market people directly with phone calls and getting those group sales,” he said. “It’s us getting on the horn and trying to be proactive.”
Networking events
In Aberdeen — which has sold out every game since the ballpark opened — the team’s staff works the games like networking events, tending personally to corporate partners and their guests and thanking fans as they leave.
“It might be a little bit time consuming for us … but at the end of the day it’s a phenomenal use of our time spending it with clients and they really appreciate it,” Moszer said.
Bowie’s Shallcross added more ballparks — like Bowie’s — are staying open year-round to host events in the off-season. From business meetings to softball games, he said those events also remind people about going to Baysox games.
“So we’re not only able to generate revenue but we’re able to bring in a segment of our population that might not have otherwise come to a baseball game,” he said.
Most teams also said they believe their attendance and ticket sales — for most clubs, a top revenue generator — has been helped so far by the downturn the economy has taken. Some teams have seen their attendance increase this year and many fans said the ticket price plays a factor.
“If I was a suburbanite here in Washington and I lived on this end of town, I’d come here; I wouldn’t bother with the Nationals,” said Gerry Vansickle, 48, who decided to catch a Baysox game while in town on business from Chattanooga, Tenn.
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“It’s way more convenient, the prices are better, you’re still watching professional ball and the caliber of players isn’t much lower than major leagues,” he added.
But the economy has taken a toll in some areas. Aberdeen’s Moszer said he’s seen people being more budget conscious, with slight dips in concessions and merchandise sales. But, he noted, the number of unused tickets has dropped off this year.
In Hagerstown, Smith said the team has seen its attendance drop 8 percent to 10 percent this year.
“We’re not doing things any differently this year, so … I’m guessing it’s a little bit the economy,” he said. “I think if people are going to watch their budgets, they’re doing it across the board.”
Revolution Sports’ Whinham said he doesn’t see the economy significantly affecting clubs in the long run.
“If you look at the worst economic times in our country, historically, sports and movies have done well,” he said, referring to Hollywood’s “Golden Age” of movies that flourished during the Great Depression.
“We believe in entertainment as an escape from the day-to-day grind,” he said. “And while the high gas prices and fear of a challenged economy may lead people to do less traveling, they still want to go out and enjoy good times with their family.”
But after the promotions, the marketing and all the other bells and whistles, you probably won’t find a non-baseball fan at a minor league ballgame. While many parents cited the affordability and compared the cost of a ballgame to a night out at the movies, everyone interviewed at games said they go to games because they simply like baseball.
Whether it’s to collect a free bobblehead, get player cards autographed or just to be closer to the action, many said the intimacy and individuality of minor league parks is second to none.
“I have friends that have season tickets to the Orioles,” said Bill Ryan, 81, a Baysox season-ticket holder. “And I tell them I’d rather come here because I see them before you do.”
The competition
That’s good news for teams that bring in most of their fans from within a 40-mile radius and see their main competition as not major league teams or even the other minor league teams, but nearby amusement parks and movie theaters.
“The key to your model is affordability for families,” said Jon Danos, president of Opening Day Partners LLC, which owns the Blue Crabs and three other minor league teams. Because of that element and the market size of most minor league teams, he said the average team is not going to be the most lucrative, get-rich-quick business.
“You could find a better investment vehicle, I’m sure,” he said. “But these do provide a livelihood and they’re fun and exciting and you can make money — although you’re not going to become Bill Gates.”
Still, the several-million-dollars average profit Whinham and others interviewed estimated most teams make can be enticing, as well as the potential multimillion dollar sale of the team.
“Twenty or 30 years ago, people were buying these teams for $50,000 [or] $100,000,” Whinham said. “Certainly those days are over.”