When the nation’s hottest sports prospect comes to town, somebody’s bound to make a buck or two.
Bryce Harper, the highly touted 18-year-old minor league baseball player quickly working his way toward the majors, is set to play six games in Richmond over the next four days.
Harper is a big draw, and the effects of his presence, although tough to measure precisely, are being felt on the business side of Richmond’s second-year professional baseball enterprise, the Flying Squirrels.
Harper’s six-game stretch could also give a bump to the Squirrels’ attendance figures, which are lagging slightly from last year’s inaugural season.
Presale tickets for Thursday night’s game, Harper’s debut in Richmond, were already at 8,000 by Thursday, according to Jon Laaser, the Squirrels’ director of broadcasting and team spokesman, making a sellout likely.
“It’s always hard to put a tangible number on exactly how many of those tickets he’s selling,” Laaser said. “We’ll probably sell out at least two of the games this weekend, due in part to Harper.”
Harper’s effect was evident earlier this month in the days leading up to a game that was supposed to have been his Richmond premier.
Although Harper — who plays on the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals — ended up getting sent elsewhere to play in an all-star game for up-and-comers, tickets sales jumped by 2,000 leading up to that game once word got out that he was coming, Laaser said.
The Squirrels don’t specifically promote when a big name player is coming to town, Laaser said, especially when they’re on the opposing team. The constant comings and goings of minor league players make it difficult to predict whether a rising star will actually show up as advertised.
For example, Stephen Strasburg, a phenom pitcher who has since made it to the major leagues, got promoted up the minor league ranks the day before he was set to pitch in Richmond last year.
“The way the minor leagues work, it’s really out of our control,” Laaser said.
Although he wouldn’t release any specific dollar figures, Laaser said the Squirrels’ season ticket base went up 20 percent this season. Group tickets surpassed last season before this season even started, and sponsorships are up as well.
Average attendance, however, is lagging last season ever so slightly.
An average of 6,600 tickets was sold per game last season, the season that brought professional baseball back to Richmond. That average is at about 6,300 this season with 47 home games played and 24 remaining.
Mother Nature is part of that problem.
“One area that hasn’t treated us as kindly is the weather, which affects our walk-up crowd,” Laaser said.
A bigger problem is what Laaser called a decline in “bodies at the game,” referring to fans not showing up for games even if they already purchased tickets.
Mother Nature plays a bigger role in that.
The weather this season, particularly late afternoon storms, has been a thorn in the Squirrels’ side, Laaser said.
“The biggest thing is the timing of the weather,” Laaser said, “during what we call the decision making time of the day: 5:30 or 6 p.m.,” when fans decide after work whether to catch a game.
Attendance is not the only thing affected by storms. If the weather scares away bodies, fewer beers are poured and less cotton candy is spun.
There’s one other factor that would seem to seal the deal on a successful second season: a run to the playoffs.
But interestingly, the financial success of a minor league team doesn’t necessarily correlate to its record.
“Historically in the minor leagues, the performance of the team hasn’t impacted the gate as much,” Laaser said. “The minor league is geared toward a lot of the entertainment side, regardless of how the team is doing.”
But Laaser said that phenomenon might not translate directly in Richmond.
“We have a feeling this market is different,” he said. In other words, Richmond likely wants a winner.
Were the season to end today, the Squirrels would be two games out of a playoff spot.
As of Thursday, with 50 wins and 45 losses, the Squirrels are in third place in the Western division of Double-A’s Eastern League, five and a half games out of first place.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
When the nation’s hottest sports prospect comes to town, somebody’s bound to make a buck or two.
Bryce Harper, the highly touted 18-year-old minor league baseball player quickly working his way toward the majors, is set to play six games in Richmond over the next four days.
Harper is a big draw, and the effects of his presence, although tough to measure precisely, are being felt on the business side of Richmond’s second-year professional baseball enterprise, the Flying Squirrels.
Harper’s six-game stretch could also give a bump to the Squirrels’ attendance figures, which are lagging slightly from last year’s inaugural season.
Presale tickets for Thursday night’s game, Harper’s debut in Richmond, were already at 8,000 by Thursday, according to Jon Laaser, the Squirrels’ director of broadcasting and team spokesman, making a sellout likely.
“It’s always hard to put a tangible number on exactly how many of those tickets he’s selling,” Laaser said. “We’ll probably sell out at least two of the games this weekend, due in part to Harper.”
Harper’s effect was evident earlier this month in the days leading up to a game that was supposed to have been his Richmond premier.
Although Harper — who plays on the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals — ended up getting sent elsewhere to play in an all-star game for up-and-comers, tickets sales jumped by 2,000 leading up to that game once word got out that he was coming, Laaser said.
The Squirrels don’t specifically promote when a big name player is coming to town, Laaser said, especially when they’re on the opposing team. The constant comings and goings of minor league players make it difficult to predict whether a rising star will actually show up as advertised.
For example, Stephen Strasburg, a phenom pitcher who has since made it to the major leagues, got promoted up the minor league ranks the day before he was set to pitch in Richmond last year.
“The way the minor leagues work, it’s really out of our control,” Laaser said.
Although he wouldn’t release any specific dollar figures, Laaser said the Squirrels’ season ticket base went up 20 percent this season. Group tickets surpassed last season before this season even started, and sponsorships are up as well.
Average attendance, however, is lagging last season ever so slightly.
An average of 6,600 tickets was sold per game last season, the season that brought professional baseball back to Richmond. That average is at about 6,300 this season with 47 home games played and 24 remaining.
Mother Nature is part of that problem.
“One area that hasn’t treated us as kindly is the weather, which affects our walk-up crowd,” Laaser said.
A bigger problem is what Laaser called a decline in “bodies at the game,” referring to fans not showing up for games even if they already purchased tickets.
Mother Nature plays a bigger role in that.
The weather this season, particularly late afternoon storms, has been a thorn in the Squirrels’ side, Laaser said.
“The biggest thing is the timing of the weather,” Laaser said, “during what we call the decision making time of the day: 5:30 or 6 p.m.,” when fans decide after work whether to catch a game.
Attendance is not the only thing affected by storms. If the weather scares away bodies, fewer beers are poured and less cotton candy is spun.
There’s one other factor that would seem to seal the deal on a successful second season: a run to the playoffs.
But interestingly, the financial success of a minor league team doesn’t necessarily correlate to its record.
“Historically in the minor leagues, the performance of the team hasn’t impacted the gate as much,” Laaser said. “The minor league is geared toward a lot of the entertainment side, regardless of how the team is doing.”
But Laaser said that phenomenon might not translate directly in Richmond.
“We have a feeling this market is different,” he said. In other words, Richmond likely wants a winner.
Were the season to end today, the Squirrels would be two games out of a playoff spot.
As of Thursday, with 50 wins and 45 losses, the Squirrels are in third place in the Western division of Double-A’s Eastern League, five and a half games out of first place.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
Correction: Strasburg was called up right before the Squirrels were set to play in Harrisburg.
http://rvanews.com/sports/flying-squirrels-split-a-set-with-altoona-head-out-for-harrisburg/27978