After the first three months of the season, minor league baseball seemed likely to shatter last season’s attendance mark and post its first increase at the gate in four years. As the final games of 2012 are played, however, it doesn't look like that will come to pass.

According to unofficial attendance figures, minor league teams have drawn 41,164,708 fans this season, which would be 87,345 shy of last season’s figure of 41,252,053. The New York-Penn League concludes its regular season today, and the Pioneer League wraps up on Saturday, but those leagues probably don't have the attendance horsepower to make up the difference. If teams match their season averages, those two leagues would combine for an additional 60,464 fans, which would leave the sport just 26,881 below last season’s total.

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The Oklahoma City RedHawks (Pacific Coast) kicked off their season last night as their ballpark changed names for the second time in less than 48 hours.

The Triple-A franchise, in its second year since being purchased by Mandalay Baseball Properties, announced on Wednesday that it had sold the stadium's naming rights to the local Chickasaw Nation tribe. The new name for the park was going to be Newcastle Field at Bricktown, incorporating the name of one the tribe's casinos, which is in the Oklahoma City suburb of Newcastle.

However, some local officials objected to the ballpark being named after a casino, while others resented the city-owned park being named for another town. So the team changed course yesterday and announced that the ballpark will instead be called Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. 

Having the name of one the state's historic tribes, not one of its casinos, on the ballpark was much more appealing to local officials, the Oklahoman reported yesterday.

“Out of consideration for the expressed concerns of Oklahoma City citizens, we have decided to revisit the name,” Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby said in a statement.

• In other ballpark news, the International League's Empire State Yankees (their name this year instead of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) kicked off their 144-game road trip last night in Lehigh Valley as local officials in Pennsylvania continue to work on completing the sale of the team to SWB Yankees LLC. An April 1 deadline had been set for the sale to be complete, so that construction could begin in time for the proposed $40 million ballpark to be ready by Opening Day 2013. Local officials announced today that even though no deal has been reached, the two sides are close enough that contractors can begin preparing for the demolition of PNC Field.

The Yankees are playing their home games at six different ballparks this season while PNC Field gets a facelift. Rochester, N.Y., will serve as the team's base, and they will play 37 of their 82 home games at the Red Wings ballpark.

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After weeks of spoiling much of the country with spring-like conditions, Mother Nature returned to early-March form for the start of the minor league season last night.

Cold and rainy conditions made a great night not to be at the ballpark in places like low Class A Asheville and Triple-A Norfolk–where rainouts spoiled Opening Day for two Orioles' four affiliates. In all, six games were rained out, including five in the South Atlantic League, while several played on in cold conditions–temperatures dipped into 50s at Triple-A Durham.

The conditions dampened a key date on the minor league calendar. Along with the Fourth of July, Opening Day is as close to a sure thing as you get in the minor leagues, as the start of the season typically leads to full houses. Losing that revenue can prove costly for a team's bottom line, particularly smaller-market teams at the lower levels whose seasons can be more heavily impacted by one bad night than their Triple-A brethren.

The night was not lost everywhere. The Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos attracted 5,038 for its debut as the Southern League's newest franchise. The price was right in Brevard County (Florida State), where free admission attracted 4,637 fans, and San Antonio (Texas), whose $1 concessions helped the Missions top the TL with 7,032 fans.

And, of course, it would not be the minor leagues without some unique promotions beyond staples like "Thirsty Thursdays" and "Magnet Schedule Giveaways." Ryan Howard may not be on the Phillies Opening Day roster, but he was a still a hit in Reading, as the R-Phils passed out a double-bobblehead of the first baseman and another favorite son–the Crazy Hot Dog Vendor. Fellow Eastern League affiliate Binghamton welcomed fans to the ballpark with a free tailgate party.

Several teams kicked off the season with free concerts, including the Iowa Cubs (Pacific Coast), Jackson Generals (Southern) and Dunedin Blue Jays (Florida State)–which rolled out a band called the Black Honkeys (no joke). The Quad Cities River Bandits (Midwest) threw a parade and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Midwest) offered fans a choice of five bobbleheads.

See below for a breakdown of every team's promotions and attendance from last night's game. It should be noted that while promotions can impact a team's performance at the gate, it is not the only factor–the ballpark, concessions, weather, and the arrival of young phenoms certainly play a role (though the Syracuse Chiefs hardly made the most of Bryce Harper's Triple-A debut last night).

I read one of those cute blog posts this morning highlighting all of the pop-culture reasons why you're old, including the fact that the cast of the television show "Boy Meets World" are now all in their early 30s. Does it make me even older if I never heard of "Boy Meets World?"

Apparently, plenty of people in Fresno are familiar with the hit '90s show, as nearly 7,000 fans came out to Chukchansi Park last night for this promotion: Mad Tight 90s Night Meets World, featuring Ben "Cory Matthews" Savage appearance from Boy Meets World.

The biggest draw of the night came in Indianapolis, as the Indians filled Victory Field with 12,565 fans on Education Day and Thursday Value Pack Night—which, for a $15 ticket, included a hot dog, unlimited soda and choice of souvenir item.

Fortunately, my kids don't read this blog and thus won't know that two teams offered Silly Bandz giveaways last night. Otherwise, there would be plenty of clamoring for a road trip to Peoria and Syracuse.

As Always, Thirsty Thursday was the promotion du jour, as 33 of the scheduled 60 games last night offered some variety of the promotion. Two of those games were rained out, leaving 31 Thirsty Thursday games that drew a total of 95,686 fans (or a 3,086 per-game average). 

Again, factors other than promotions do impact attendance, like weather (which has been a challenge for many teams this season) and Josh Hamilton minor league starts (Frisco drew 10,998 as the AL MVP made his second rehab start last night).

Below is a list of the scheduled promotions and attendance figures from last night's games.

[...] Continue Reading »

The weather was pretty miserable throughout much of the Eastern League last night, so perhaps "Richard Simmons Short Shorts Night" in Akron and "Fisher Cats Wing-Off" in New Hampshire could have been even bigger hits with better temperatures. The two promotions still drew 2,508 and 3,177 fans, respectively, close to each team's average attendance. 

The Double-A Frisco Roughriders had no promotion for last night listed on their schedule but still drew a minor league-high 8,313 fans. Perhaps they knew all along that Josh Hamilton would be starting a five-game rehab stint.

There were discounted drinks and food aplenty around the minors. The Double-A Mobile BayBears offered $1 glasses of wine for "Ladies Night" while high Class A Modesto Nuts offered $2 vino as part of "Wine Down Wednesday." The best bargain may have been in high Class A Lake Elsinore, where fans could feast on free hot dogs as part of "Wacky Weenie Wednesday." The low Class A Lexington Legends upped the ante a bit by offering "34-Cent Hot Dog Night" and drew 7,861 fans. And the Triple-A Columbus Clippers drew 6,651 on "50-Cent Wing Night."

Below is a complete listing of last night's promotions and attendance figures.

[...] Continue Reading »

Whether it be a Bark in the Park afternoon, an Awful Night or a Thirsty Thursday, the ultimate goal of minor league promotions is the same: to draw attention to your team and fans to the ballpark.

With that in mind, below is a chart tracking last night's attendance figures and promotions for every minor league baseball team. While promotions certainly impact a team's performance at the gate, they are not the only factor in how a team draws—weather, rehab starts, Stephen Strasburg (last year) and other factors can certainly determine how many fans come through the turnstiles.

The big winner of the day appears to be Triple-A Las Vegas, which sold out Cashman Field (11,001) on an Education Day promotion. Sadly, Double-A Akron's Fish Appreciation Night got washed out.

All but a handful of minor league teams participate in the Kraft Singles Tuesday Night Tickets deal, in which fans can redeem two tickets for the price of one when they bring a wrapper to the ballpark. Minor League Baseball reports that wrapper redemption is up 13 percent compared to last year.

[...] Continue Reading »

There are no guarantees in minor league baseball, and building a winning operation is certainly no easy task. But owners lucky enough to land a new ballpark or move to a market eager for a team typically fare pretty well at the gate.

The Gwinnett Braves (International) had both of those factors working in their favor when they left Richmond, Va., for a new, publicly funded stadium in suburban Atlanta in 2009, but they have proven to be the rare exception to the rule.

Simply put, the turnstiles have not been spinning for the G-Braves. In their debut season, the Braves' Triple-A affiliate averaged just 5,966 fans a game—placing them third from the bottom in the 14-team International League. That number dipped almost 20 percent last season, as Gwinnett drew 4,818 fans a game—the second-worst average in the IL.

Second-year general manager North Johnson is confident that will all change in 2011. With a full offseason to prepare (Johnson came on board just 10 weeks before Opening Day last season) and with trusted lieutenants from his previous posts at Kinston and Myrtle Beach, both in the Carolina League, now on staff in Gwinnett, the veteran minor league operator expects to see a significant boost in attendance this season.

Really, there is no other option at this point.

“If we don’t have a 15 to 20 percent increase (in attendance) this year, then we have to go back to the drawing board,” Johnson said. “We have done a lot of things this offseason that are proven commodities in other markets. Group sales are up. Interest in the community is up. Fundraising numbers are up.

"That should easily result in an increase in attendance.”

[...] Continue Reading »

If flat is indeed the new up, then Minor League Baseball had one hell of a season.

The days of setting attendance records annually may be gone, but the sport did an admirable job of weathering a difficult economy in 2010. MILB's 15 leagues (including the Triple-A Mexican League) drew 41,452,436 fans this season, a modest 0.5 percent decrease from last year's total of 41,644,518.

"Once again, Minor League Baseball is showing its resiliency in the current economic conditions," Minor League Baseball president Pat O'Conner said. "While the economy sputters in many areas of the country, our fans continue to respond to our product. For Minor League Baseball to be down less than 1 percent in season attendance is truly a testament to the loyalty of our fans and the work of our teams."

The minors remain well behind its pre-recession glory days. That's when the sport, amid a ballpark building boom, set attendance records for five consecutive seasons—culminating in 2008 with a total of 43,263,740. But it appears to be heading in the right direction. More teams saw an increase at the gate this season than last, with 63 of 160 teams averaging more fans this season. In 2009, just 58 of 160 teams increased their average attendance.

O'Conner noted that the sport may very well have seen an overall increase if not for 100 rainouts in August. However, the minors would have certainly fallen even further behind its 2009 total if not for the performance of a handful of teams.

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Even amid yet another slump on the field, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are making a run at first place—in attendance, that is.

The third-year Triple-A International League affiliate tops all of minor league baseball with an average of 9,206 fans per game, and 543,171 total, in 59 openings. With 12 home dates (and several noteworthy promotions remaining on the creative team’s schedule), the IronPigs are on pace to top their total from last season (641,335) while making a run at Triple-A Columbus’ minor league high from 2009 (666,797).

“I think being No. 1 overall is fantastic and I have started to realize that we have a phenomenal shot at doing that, but we’ve just focused on increasing our attendance each year,” Lehigh Valley general manager Kurt Landes said.

The IronPigs have done just that in their brief existence. Playing in a 3-year-old ballpark with plenty of frills certainly helps bring fans out. But the IronPigs have steadily grown their fan base and packed Coca-Cola Park while playing in the 27th largest market among the 30 Triple-A teams.

They have also received little help on the field.

The Phillies have had plenty of success at the big league level since the IronPigs debuted in 2008, but their Triple-A affiliate has found a regular home near the bottom of the International League standings.

This season, Lehigh Valley’s 46-72 mark is better than only Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the IL. The team finished 71-73 in 2009 (good for third in the IL’s Northern Division) after going a brutal 55-89 in 2008, the IL’s worst mark. In fact, Landes said, the IronPigs have never had a winning record in three seasons—not even 1-0.

The losing has hardly discouraged IronPigs fans. On Tuesday, for example, Lehigh Valley sold out Coca-Cola Park by drawing 10,000 fans despite the team having lost 14 of 15 games. On Thursday, Lehigh Valley snapped an 11-game home losing streak in front of 9,502 fans. The team averaged 9,582 fans over those 12 games.

“If our team was competitive in August, it would be such an incredible environment, to be involved in a playoff chase,” Landes said. “We could do some truly amazing things if we had a competitive team . . . It makes it that much more important for us that we do our jobs perfectly. Entertain. Promotions. Giveaways. We have to be on top our games to do things perfectly.”

The Pigs have made the most of a ballpark that has proven to be one of the nicest in the minors. They sold out their eight group-seating areas for the entire season—which include five suites, two party porches and a picnic area, and accounts for roughly 800 fans per game. One of their offseason goals is to add more group-seating options to the ballpark as well as convert some standing-room only areas into fixed seats.

The highlight of Lehigh Valley’s season came last month when they hosted the Triple-A all-star game—which they did in typical IronPigs fashion. A team known for its creativity did not disappoint—they allowed select fans to watch the home run derby from inside a batting cage on the infield dirt and placed an employee in a crane that was raised a foot with every home run. The event also gave the team a chance to show off its home to their peers.

“The greatest compliment was paid by other team executives and how amazed they were at the facility and at the promotions we do,” Landes said. “We were thrilled to share the IronPigs experience.”

Meanwhile, Triple-A Sacramento will finish out of the top spot for a second consecutive season. The River Cats, which topped the minors in attendance for eight straight seasons after debuting in 2000, ranks second this season but is on pace for another drop.

The recession has hit Sacramento hard, and it has shown at the gate. The team is averaging 8,870 fans per game—an impressive total, but one that is down from 9,126 last season and 9,725 in 2008.

The Columbus Clippers are third overall while experiencing a slight dip after debuting their new ballpark in grand fashion last year. The minors' top draw in 2009, Columbus' average has fallen from 9,526 last season to 8,736 this year through 57 openings.

Count Minor League Baseball among the few who think the Nationals should take their time before promoting Stephen Strasburg to the big leagues.

While Strasburg's record-setting days may be ahead of him in Washington, he's certainly helped some minor league teams reach new heights during the first seven weeks of his professional career. Three of Strasburg's seven starts between the Double-A Eastern League and Triple-A International League have resulted in attendance records for the home team (his April 27 outing in Reading was a makeup game from a rainout the night before and thus did not have an announced crowd).

Strasburg is scheduled to make his third start since being promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs tonight at the Rochester Red Wings' Frontier Field. As has been the case most everywhere Strasburg has gone this season, the game has been the talk of the town in Rochester.

The Red Wings had sold over 9,000 tickets by lunch time and it appeared only a steady afternoon rain could put a damper on the evening's festivities and prevent Rochester from reaching its standing-room-only capacity of 13,500.

"It it was sunny, it would be crazy here tonight," Red Wings general manager Dan Mason said this afternoon as rain continued to fall three hours before game time. "The buzz that this young man has created is something we haven't seen here for awhile."

[...] Continue Reading »

For the first time in six years, minor league baseball did not set an attendance record.

The economic slowdown proved too great for even the debut of six new ballparks to overcome. Final overall attendance is expected to be announced later this week, but MILB spokesman Steve Densa confirmed today that a new record was not reached in 2009.

Replacing failing markets with new ones, and swapping aging ballparks with state-of-the-art facilities has been at the heart of minor league baseball’s recent growth. Last year, the sport rode the coattails of three new ballparks to overcome the recession and set a new standard by drawing 43,263,740.

[...] Continue Reading »

Remember that shiny new ballpark that was supposed to open its doors to downtown Winston-Salem back in April? 

It’s not coming.

At least not this season.

Winston-Salem finally announced the inevitable this afternoon: that after 19 home games, the new ballpark is going to have to wait ’till next year. The process of Billy Prim buying out longtime co-owner Andrew Filipowski has taken longer than expected and left the Dash without financing to finish the project.

"We have continued to hope and work towards opening the ballpark this season, but feel at this point that the best interest of or fans and the project for this year (and) beyond will be served by focusing on opening the new park in 2010 and providing the best family entertainment option we can at Wake Forest (Baseball Park) this year," Prim said in a statement.

[...] Continue Reading »

So how does Round Rock continually remain one of the top draws in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League?

One way is through continual improvements, and the team will announce its next batch in a press conference tomorrow at the Dell Diamond. Included will be the team’s 10th anniversary logo and a virtual tour of the new luxury club level.

The Express drew 668,623 last season, second in the league to Sacramento.

From today’s press release:

The Round Rock Express will offer the first public look into the 2009 season and major renovations currently underway at The Dell Diamond. Members of the Express front office and the Central Texas community will be on hand to unveil Round Rock’s 10^th Anniversary logo and 2009 plans, including a virtual tour of the new luxury club and other additions to The Dell Diamond. The luxury club’s naming rights will also be revealed. Other renovations, including a third-level press box, new elevators, a suite and season ticket holder entrance and eco-friendly efforts will be discussed and a tour of the renovation site will be offered to the media. 

Before the start of the season, I spoke with Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Brian Auld about how the team hoped to attract fans to the ballpark for an article in our Major League Preview issue. With the Rays set to play before packed houses in the American League Championship Series, I thought it would be interesting to check in again with Auld and get his take on how the season went off the field.

Evaluating how the Rays fared off the field is a more complex process than the simple wins and losses that reveal the team’s best season on the diamond in their 10-year history.

Sure, the Rays overall attendance grew by 400,000 to 1,780,791—a roughly 40 percent increase on last year’s total. However Tampa still ranked just 26th in the majors in overall attendance despite besting the Red Sox and Yankees for the AL East crown.

So, as Tampa Bay prepares to host the Boston in the American League Championship Series, would it be fair to classify the season as a success? [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around The Minors

• The USA Today’s Jack Carey delves into the debate over wood and metal bats and the lawsuit being filed by bat companies and USA Baseball to overturn the recent metal bat ban in New York City.

• Sarasota’s winning ways on the field certainly have not translated accordingly in the stands. The Reds Florida State League affiliate is last in the league in attendance and trying to figure out new ways to put fannies in the seats as it awaits word on a possible ballpark construction project.

• Historic Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Mass.–which opened in 1892, has hosted great players like Lou Gehrig and is on the National Register of Historic Places–is in need of a major facelift. The question remains as to whether it will get those repairs, estimated by some in the millions, and what will happen to the ballpark if it doesn’t. [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around The Minors

It’s been a busy stretch here at Baseball America getting out our latest issue—we bid farewell to the draft-and-follow with a feature by editor in chief Will Lingo—but it’s time to get back to the Biz Beat with news from the past few days.

(Once again, send any upcoming promotions and business news to me at businessbeat@baseballamerica.com.)

• Go ahead and call it the Scott Boras Academy. For the past two years, Boras has sent pitchers looking for better value in the draft to independent Fort Worth and both pitchers (Luke Hochevear and Max Scherzer), in addition to Boras and Fort Worth, have come away better for the move.

• Portland announces the Bob L. Head bobblehead winner—and it’s the dude from Iowa who won the internet voting race. Not exactly American Idol, but quite a creative promotion that actually garnered national media attention.

• The future home of the Northwest Arkansas Travelers came in $4.1 million over its estimated cost of $29.3 million. As a result, some party decks and luxury suites in the plans hit the cutting room floor.

• Josh Hamilton’s rehab assignment, which begins tonight in Durham—just a few miles from his hometown of Raleigh—figures to be a media tour as well.

• A reporter for the News Herald (located somewhere in northeast Ohio) takes some shots at Columbus Clippers’ Cooper Stadium—saying among other things, that the Nationals should be ashamed of letting their Triple-A team play there. I guess he hasn’t been to RFK. [...] Continue Reading »

When the independent South Coast League drew 5,033 fans to Macon for the league opener, it was pretty surprising. Short of the Georgia football team deciding to leave Athens to play in Macon, nothing draws 5,000 fans in Macon. And the opening weekend drew an impressive average of 3,600 fans a night for three games. The league also reported impressive openings in Charlotte County (Fla.) with a three-game draw of more than 2,600 fans per night and an average of more than 1,700 in Anderson, S.C. [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around Baseball

• International League team owners approve the sale of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to a private ownership group headed by Mandalay and the Yankees—the first of three steps to complete the sale. Two Lackawanna County board members called for a reconsideration of the purchase after the recent Harrisburg sale, which was completed for just $250,000 more than the proposed deal.

• Trenton draws a team-record 9,134 spectators for Clemens’ appearance last night. Meanwhile, a pair of former players in attendance could recollect what it’s like to face The Rocket and the national media was out in force for the event.

• Philly Inquirer beat writer Jim Salisbury looks at the convergence of baseball greats in New Jersey last night: Ryan Howard in Lakewood, Roger Clemens in Trenton. [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around the Minors

• Acquiring Triple-A Portland is a dream come true for 34-year-old Merritt Paulson, son of U.S. treasury secretary Henry Paulson and the new majority owner and general manager of the Beavers.

“I have long had the goal of owning and operating a sports franchise,” Paulson said in a press conference the day after news of the surprising purchase made headlines—Paulson’s ownership group is Portland’s third owner in six years.

Meanwhile, Paulson plans to make his first community service appearance today when he joins 10 players from a local minor league soccer team included in the purchase as they deliver soccer balls to a Portland-area elementary school.

• The day Brad Taylor told the Biz Blog he was hoping for has finally arrived: Roger Clemens will be gracing the mound at Mercer County Waterfront Ballpark tonight against Portland and the Trenton GM is pulling out all the stops. Taylor is doubling the food at concession stands, bulking up security and adding a parking shuttle for the event. The folks up in Scranton may be pulling for the Sea Dogs tonight—a strong showing by Clemens may send him straight to the majors without a Triple-A appearance.

The New York media has ramped up its coverage for Clemens’ second outing of the season. Kevin Kernan of the New York Post writes that while pitching in Trenton is great, Clemens needs to reach the big leagues as soon as possible to wake the Yankees out of their mid-spring slumber. One Thunder fan reports being offered $300 for his front-row seat; he turned down the cash to judge Clemens himself. [...] Continue Reading »

Stories Making Headlines Around the Minors

• It seems unusual that the sale of an affiliated team could come as a complete surprise—news of Harrisburg’s recent sale had been making headlines for months—but there had been no reports of Triple-A Portland being on the market before this morning. The franchise was sold for the second time in two years when an ownership group led by Merritt Paulson, son of U.S. treasury secretary Henry Paulson, bought both the Beavers and the local minor league soccer team from developer Abe Alizadeh and the Portland Baseball Investment Group.

Terms of the deal were not released and the purchase still needs to be approved by the Pacific Coast League and Minor League Baseball. The Sacramento Business Journal estimates that previous sale of the team in 2005 was for between $7 million and $12 million.

It will be interesting to see how much the team appreciated in the short period of time. Portland appears to be a market on the rise, with attendance improving by 40,000 from 2005 to 2006.

• Liberty Media makes its first personnel move since purchasing the Braves from Time Warner, naming Greg Heller vice president and general counsel. Heller has been the assistant team counsel for the Braves since 2000 in addition to serving in a dual role as senior counsel for Turner Sports and Turner Broadcasting System Inc. (“TBS”). [...] Continue Reading »