Dollars & Sense - A-Rod's Impact on Minor League Attendance

For a paper in one of my classes back in my freshman year of college, I sat down with the General Manager of the Trenton Thunder (NY Yankees Double-A affiliate), Will Smith, to talk about what it is like to be a GM at the minor league level.  Of course, one of the major points that I wanted to touch on was how to consistently put butts in the seats, which is the goal of any GM in sports but especially minor league baseball.  He went through the laundry list of business promotions, the focus on selling to groups, the whole nine yards.  But minor league baseball has a unique attendance draw that nobody else has.

Rehab assignments.

Now, he was clear that they do not ever root for a player to get hurt just so that there will be the inevitable rehab assignment.  But these assignments are such a huge draw.  Where else can you see major league stars play while sitting in a $10 seat in the first row?

Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees third baseman recovering from hip surgery, recently began a 20-day rehab assignment through the Yankees’ minor league system.  A-Rod’s presence was certainly felt, drawing huge crowds (Single-A speaking) out to the ballpark.

usatoday.com

The assignment began in Charleston, N.C. with the Riverdogs, the Yankees’ low-A affiliate.  According to Bleeding Yankee Blue, last year the Riverdogs averaged just under 3,800 fans per game.  Their stadium seating capacity is about 6,000.  On July 2^nd, the first game that A-Rod played in Charleston, an impressive 8,255 fans came out to Joseph P. Riley Park.  It was the second largest crowd on head at the park, just behind its opening day in 2007.  

After another night with the Single-A Riverdogs and another night above capacity, A-Rod made his way down I-95 (Hey, that’s us!) to play for the high-A Tampa Yankees. The night prior to A-Rod’s arrival, Tample had a crowd of about 1,500 fans.  The very next night with A-Rod in the lineup, the Tampa Yanks more than doubled the attendance with 3,148 fans in attendance.

As A-Rod moves his way up through the system, more of the Yankees’ farm system will feel the power of having a superstar major-leaguer on their field.  With likely stops in Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, A-Rod’s name will be a huge draw.  Eduardo Nunez recently finished a rehab game with Trenton on the Fourth of July and Derek Jeter has been in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a few days.  

Although Thunder GM Will Smith said that they certainly do not root for players to get hurt, he certainly does not mind the extra faces in the stands. The Thunder are one of the more successful minor league franchises and even after a couple of days of fireworks and a retirement party for their long-time bat-dog, Chase, A-Rod’s presence will surely bring the best crowds of the season.  

 Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Dollars & Sense: NBA Rebranding in New Orleans and Charlotte

This week marks the beginning of the conference finals in the NBA playoffs – Memphis Grizzlies against the San Antonio Spurs (Spurs lead 2-0) in the west and the Miami Heat against the Indiana Pacers (Heat lead 1-0) in the east.  However, this week has been the week for the losers.  Between the NBA Draft lottery on Tuesday and the current rebranding efforts in New Orleans and Charlotte, the losers are becoming just a little bit more lovable.  Or at least they are trying to be anyway.

New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans franchise has been marred by weak performances over the years and even weaker stability.  Making their debut in the league as the Charlotte Hornets in 1988 alongside the Miami Heat, the Hornets were constantly struggling in their first three years.  Names like Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, and Glen Rice helped build the franchise to the point where Rice led them to their first back-to-back NBA playoff appearances in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Rice, Bogues, and Mourning (Soletron.com)

However, attendance and fan base found themselves in rapid decline after the 1997-98 season.  Dropping from their peak in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons where they averaged 24,042 fans per game, the Hornets found themselves averaging only 11,286 in 2001-02.  That was the final straw for the franchise in Charlotte.

The Hornets relocated their franchise to New Orleans searching for greener pastures and greener wallets.  What they found was a relatively small increase in attendance though.  In the 2003-04 season, the Hornets ranked 28^th in the NBA in attendance. 

When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the New Orleans franchise split their time in Oklahoma City due to the destruction in their home city.  Though the Hornets played in Oklahoma City to wonderful attendance success – proven success that later aided the Seattle Super Sonics in their controversial relocation to Oklahoma City in 2008 – it was not their home town.

Now settled back into their home in New Orleans with a couple of high profile talents on their roster in Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis, the franchise is beginning to feel like they have an identity again.  One problem… The Hornets name is still from their Charlotte days.  They want their own.

Enter the New Orleans Pelicans.  Currently undergoing the transformation, the Pelicans are now official and awaiting game one of the 2013-14 regular season to show it off.  After walking away with the sixth pick in this summer’s NBA Draft after Tuesday’s draft lottery, the Pelicans will look to add some more fire power to their young squad.

ESPN.com

The early stages of the transition from the menacing Hornets to the seemingly friendly Pelicans has been met with its fair share of criticism.  Is the criticism warranted?  It is tough to say because anybody can sit back and criticize when they have not been in the driver’s seat on this type of decision.   Let’s just give them their credit in that the logo designers made the most intimidating pelican possible.  And let’s be honest, the New Orleans franchise was doomed for a unfitting name when the Utah Jazz – Utah! – took the Jazz nickname.

Charlotte Hornets

After the Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans in 2002, the city was left without an NBA franchise.  However, despite the declining attendance numbers that pushed the Hornets to New Orleans in the first place, the NBA saw potential. 

NBA.com

The city was not without an NBA franchise for long as the Bobcats were born in 2004, two years after the Hornets left.  Expansion had been on the mind of the NBA for a little while, and Charlotte had supported a franchise in the past.  Had the NBA known the potential in Oklahoma City – potential that was not realized until after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – maybe Charlotte would still be waiting for the NBA’s return. 

Problem was that bobcats are not really synonymous with the Charlotte areas, or many areas in the world, so the nickname seemed a little bit out of left field.  Sure it sounds fierce, but that is not the point.  In the NBA where there are so many classic team names - think Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, 76ers -  few people could envision the Bobcats (or the Pelicans for that matter) becoming a name of that stature.

But now, with the Hornets becoming the Pelicans in New Orleans, the window is now open for the Bobcats to return to their roots by switching back to the Hornets.  Basically, now instead of having two cities with confused nicknames, we have one wrong righted and one team still trying to figure it out and create their own identity.

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Regardless of how you feel about the Pelicans or the Hornets or the Bobcats, one thing will always ring true: winning cures everything.  Look at the opposite end of the spectrum in Major League Baseball last season with the Miami Marlins.  Known as the Florida Marlins since their first season in 1993, ownership decided to rebrand the team with new colors, a new ballpark, a new roster, and a more geographically narrowed home in Miami prior to the beginning of last season. 

Of course, we all know that the Marlins went on to completely implode last year finishing in last place in the National League East and resulting in the fire sale of players this past offseason, and now they are terrible again.  Oh, and attendance is back to its pre-Marlins Park numbers.  If the Marlins would have kept winning, then maybe they could have build on the momentum of the new park and the infusion of talent.  Now that would have been a rebranding success.

What has become a relatively quiet rebranding success is the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL.  With a rich history in the WHA and then the NHL from 1972-1996, the Jets were a relatively successful franchise before being moved to Phoenix to become the Coyotes in 1996.  Never missing the playoffs in more than two seasons in a row in their NHL days, the Jets were always in it.  In 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg and brought the tradition back to life.

This past season, the Jets found themselves four points behind the New York Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but they were certainly in it.  Also, and probably more importantly, the Jets averaged 100-percent attendance with just over 15,000 fans per game (remember that basketball attendance capacities in arenas are higher than hockey).  It is hard to ask for more from a team that just wrapped up their second season in a new city.

By now, it should be clear that the key to rebranding success for the Pelicans and the Hornets is to do exactly the opposite that the Marlins did.  Winning is a major player in building a loyal fan base, and winning is something that the Marlins are not doing but the Jets are.  Whether it is the NBA or the MLB or the NHL or any other professional sports league in the world, the formula is simple.  Just win, baby. 


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Dollars & Sense - Miami Marlins Continued Attendance Decline

The Miami Marlins are bad.  Really bad.  We all know that, though.  It really isn't much of a secret.  But sports are about unconditionally loving your team, no matter how bad they may be.  With the way that the Miami Marlins' fans are buying up tickets (or not), they are showing us that sometimes there may in fact be conditions to fanhood loving.

Fans give their vote approval or disapproval of the current state of their favorite team by either buying tickets, watching on television, consuming any other sort of media related to the team, or none of the above.  These days it seems that more and more Marlins fans are choosing the latter.  On Monday, Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) documented the Marlins continuous attendance decline.  What began in the second half of last season, has rolled on into the early stages of 2013.

Last season, in their first season in Marlins Park, the Marlins averaged 27,400 fans per game. That was a big increase from their mark of just over 18,700 the year prior, but not as big as the front office would have liked to see with the money put into the team and on-paper firepower.  This season, the Marlins are averaging 18,864 fans per game, thus putting them within 100 fans per game of their pre-Marlins Park attendance figures.  Only the Tampa Bay Rays have seen a bigger decline from year one to year two in their current stadium.  I mean, it is not like tickets are ridiculously overpriced like the early days of the new Yankee Stadium.  We are talking $9 tickets here people!  (Thank you again to Bizball Maury Brown for the data.)

On Tuesday, the team decided to close off a portion of their upper deck.  The practice of "tarping off" sections of seats is usually saved for franchises with years and years woes and poor ticket sales.  This helps to knock down attendance capacity, which is why it is used from time to time in the NFL due to their blackout rules.  Ask the Jacksonville Jaguars how this has worked for their franchise.

Hollywood Reporter

The rise and fall of Miami Marlins and their love-to-hate owner Jeffrey Loria is well documented.  In the offseason prior to the 2012 season, the Marlins signed Jose Reyes, Mark Buerhle, and Heath Bell to usher in the franchise's brand new Marlins Park.  They were even in play to land the coveted Albert Pujols!  The fact that Loria & Co. was under SEC investigation for possible violations in obtaining the funding for Marlins Park (the public funded $500 million of the construction costs) is more or less irrelevant here speaks volumes to the position of the franchise is in.

So, headed into the new season, Loria had his new group of players playing in his new ballpark, everything seemed perfect. The Marlins got off to a quick start... in the wrong direction.  Finishing the year as the cellar-dwellers in the National League East at 69-93, the Marlins were just like that guy that peaked in high school.  On paper in the offseason, the Marlins looked like contenders.  Yet as we are reminded year in and year out, pennants are not won at the Winter Meetings.

After the season, the previous year's blockbuster signings were ship up to Canada along with lifetime Marlins' pitcher Josh Johnson.  The only players of promise that remained were young slugger Giancarlo Stanton and outspoken youngster Logan Morrison.  Instead of debating whether the Marlins were a playoff team like a year ago, the media debated whether Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig should step in and stop Loria video game-esque dealings.

Is there anything that can the Marlins can do to get back on top in the eyes of their fans?  They keep losing.  They are handcuffed by the whims of the Loria Administration.  They have two young players that have been tossed around in trade rumors but are both currently on the disabled list. Add it all together with one of the worst records in baseball as we near the quarter mark of the season, and it is really a public relations nightmare in South Florida.  There is nothing to hang their brightly colored black, teal, orange, and silver hats on.

Now, the Miami Marlins are living the seemingly endless nightmare.  They are at the bottom and their is absolutely no light at the end of the tunnel.  Fans are tired of living by the stroke of Jeffrey Loria's paint brush (well the actual artist's brush anyhow), and in return they have refused to by Jeffrey Loria's tickets.  Distrust in an ownership regime rarely hits the level saved mainly for a serial cheating spouse, but this one has certainly gone there.  When it comes to Miami Marlins fans, though, you just wonder if they will ever return.


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

MLB Playoff Races and Teams Making Headlines

There are teams making headlines in the MLB playoff push, but they are teams that not many people would have expected about a month ago.  Teams like the Phillies and Brewers have suddenly become contenders.  Teams like the Orioles and the A’s have surprisingly stayed in the race. 

I wrote about the Phillies a few days ago on my personal site, and they have only continued winning since then.  As of yesterday before their series with the Astros began, the Phillies sat three games behind the Cardinals for the second wildcard spot and the day before that they had reached a record over .500 for the first time since June 3.  The Phillies are surprising their fans as much as the rest of the country with many having written off the team prior to the all-star break.

The Brewers were in a similar position as the Phillies.  Well below .500 and destined to be cellar-dwellers if it weren’t for the lowly Astros.  They got back to the .500 mark this week.  Ryan Braun is doing the best he can, perhaps having a better season than last year when he won National League MVP.

To the surprise of many, the Orioles have been able to not just keep their heads about the .500 mark, but they have played themselves in position for a possible American League East championship.  Prior to yesterday’s games the Orioles sat tied atop the AL East standings with the Yankees at 80-62.  Nobody really saw it coming at the start of the season even though everyone knew that Orioles manager Buck Showalter wouldn’t go down without a fight.  They’ve fought alright, all the way to a possible playoff berth.

The A’s, the true moneyball team as I have written about, are another big surprise in the American League.  Incredibly the A’s are 82-60, good for the fourth best record in Major League Baseball.  They are doing it on the second lowest opening day payroll and their highest paid player is only making about $6.5 million this season.  Although there is no movie in the works about the 2012 A’s, this team is truly built on the moneyball principles that the book and later the movie made famous. 

Even if these teams cannot find their way into the playoffs, the business impact of the playoff run is sure to stick.  The A’s are the exception because they have been having attendance problems for years no matter how good or bad their team happens to be.  Citizen Bank Park in Philadelphia has hope restored and the crowds are coming out again.  This will help into next season as well because fans will reason on the side of the strong 2012 finish instead of the retooling process that Phillies may find themselves in next season.  Ryan Braun has further proven himself as the face of Milwaukee and another MVP caliber season will do wonders in quelling the steroid murmurs from last offseason.  Camden Yards is another stadium that is benefitting greatly from the playoff push.  Even if the Orioles lose their grip on their playoff spot, they will have hope going into next season.

That’s what playoff pushes bring.  They bring hope.  Hope brings fans to the ballpark.  Whether or not these four teams make it to the playoffs this season, they will all have hope going into 2013.  Sometimes hope is the best ingredient for a successful season of ticket sales.

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Nationals Shutting Down Strasburg

The Washington Nationals may be the best surprise in baseball. Young talent was obvious in Washington, yet baseball did not expect what they got from the Nationals. As of now the Nationals are in first place in the National League East and are in great position entering the playoffs. The core of the Nationals success is pitching. The young pitching staff has won the team many games. The most popular pitcher for the Nationals is Stephen Strasburg.

Strasburg is coming off of Tommy John surgery last season and the Nationals plan on being very careful with him. For most of the year general manager, Mike Rizzo, has said that Strasburg will be shut down before the season ended. He now says Strasburg will be shut down when he feels he needs to be. Rizzo is relying on some type of intuition for knowing when Strasburg has had enough. Manager Davey Johnson said that Strasburg is probably down to "two or three" starts.

Nationals fans (as few as there are) have reason to be upset about the decision to shut down Stephen. Strasburg has been the leader of a shocking season that has the Nationals in position to make a run in the playoffs. Although the Nationals have other pitchers who have proven they can perform, it is obvious that Washington will not be the same team once Strasburg is shut down.

Packed Stadium...

The Nationals signed Stephen Strasburg to a four year contract worth about $15 million. For this reason, Mike Rizzo has reason to protect his investment. If Rizzo allows him to pitch and he suffers a long term or potentially career threatening injury, the Nationals could be in a lot of trouble financially and on the field.

This season the Nationals attendance has been poor for a team in the position that they are in. When Strasburg pitches, attendance has oddly shown no signs of increasing. If attendance during the home games that Strasburg pitches showed obvious increase, Rizzo may have a differing view on shutting down Strasburg.

Final Thought
Washington National fans have shown no reason for Rizzo to change his mind. The embarrassing attendance for the Nationals plays a larger role in shutting down Strasburg then people think. Either way, the Nationals are in position to make a run in the playoffs. They have decided that they are going to shut down their ace. For the future of the organization and the future of Stephen Strasburg, it is a good move.


 @dmrosen7

UFC 150 Preview

UFC 144 was highlighted by a fight for the UFC Lightweight title between reigning champion Frankie Edgar and Benson “Smooth” Henderson.  In a fight that won “Fight of the Night”, Henderson edged out Edger in a unanimous decision that could have gone in favor of either fighter.  Tomorrow is UFC 150 and the rematch between Edgar and Henderson except this time Henderson comes in holding the belt. 

Benson Henderson

Similar to UFC 144, UFC 150 will also boast a solid main card overall in addition to one of the biggest fights of the year.  Before Edgar and Henderson square off, we will see a battle between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Melvin Guillard.  We will also see Jake Shields take on Ed Herman, while Yushin Okami will also see some action on the UFC 150 main fight card.

Donald Cerrone

UFC 150 will be held in Denver, CO in the Pepsi Center.  It will be a big change from the first fight between Edgar and Henderson when they fought in Saitama, Japan.  The crowd in Japan was around 20,000; a good showing for the UFC’s first appearance back in the country in almost 12 years (UFC 29 in 2000).  The Pepsi Center’s capacity is somewhere in the 20,000 range for the event that should be sold out by the time of fight night.

Pepsi Center UFC 150 set-up

Ticket prices for UFC 144 in Japan were relatively modest compared to similar fights in the United States.  Large UFC events in the States typically see minimum ticket prices in the $100 range while the tickets in Japan started around $70.  It is important to remember though that the UFC’s gate revenues are usually based more on venue size than anything.  The UFC has seen high enough demand to sell out almost all venues that they hold events in so venue capacity is a big factor.  However, the UFC is very selective in the venues that they hold events in.  High capacity arenas are not used too often by the UFC.

One of the biggest factors of success for the UFC main events is the Pay-Per-View buys.  UFC 144 was rather successful in terms of PPV buys with an estimated 375,000.  The rematch between Edgar and Henderson tomorrow should find its way to around that number although it will be a tough number to beat. 

Every time I watch a UFC event, I always marvel at the way sponsors are wrapped into the event.  When you look at the octagon, one of the first things that jump out to you is the sponsor logos on it.  It looks like the octagon was literally built for advertising.  Major companies like Anheuser-Busch and Harley Davidson seem to have found a place in the UFC.  Look for both of them to have a major presence around the ring tomorrow night.  Major movies like John Carter and Your Highness have found good sponsorship engagement with UFC events as well.  Also as controversial as the Armed Forces have been of late with their pulling of sponsors, they have stayed true to the UFC.  Could it be the passionate fan base and a better price than NASCAR?  I don’t think you can ignore it.

 

With the UFC growing (although I believe that the growth within the United States has leveled off a bit and will continue to until New York is a sanctioned state), I wonder how the fans react to all of the advertising.  In this case, I think about NASCAR.  Fans of both the UFC and NASCAR are used all of the ads and are passionate about their brands.  Are UFC fans as brand loyal as NASCAR fans?  I think only time will tell, but I do think that they can move into that territory at some point.  The UFC’s push to have bigger free events will certainly help their case on the advertising front. 

If you happen to catch the fight, you will also see some of the best social media integration in any sport.  UFC President Dana White has made it a point to have fighters reach out to fans in innovative and unique ways.  The social media strategy is not all to credit for UFC’s growth, but it is certainly helping a great deal.  If you tune in, be sure to take notice of how they work social media into their production of the event.

UFC 150 is sure to be a huge event.  For the top three fights I’ll take Shields to (barely) beat out Herman, Cerrone to out brawl the brawler Guillard, and… (get your Bruce Buffer voice ready) STILL THE UFC LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD… BENSON… SMOOTH… HENDERSON!!!

We will see all the action unfold tomorrow night with preliminary rounds split between Facebook and FX and the UFC 150 main card on PPV.