To me, the most obvious thing that can be done to reduce the amount of Boston and NY fans at OPACY, is to have a better Oriole product on the field.
In that regard, I honestly feel 2009 will be the beginning of the end of the RedSox and Yankee crowds.
I do not believe the O’s will contend in 2010, but I do believe they will go from 68-75 wins to about 85. I just believe there is enough talent on the roster that will be continuing to improve, that 2010 will be the breakthrough point for the Franchise.
85 wins would be another 4th or 5th place finish, but would feel so good after losing seasons from 1998 to 2009, that I believe O’s fans will head back to the stadium in larger amounts during the 2nd-half of next year.
However, due the costs of attending RedSox, or Yankee games in Boston, and NY; plenty of their fans will continue to attempt to head to Camden Yards, especially for weekend series when school is out.
When the O’s release their individual game-tickets to the public at large, a couple of things happen.
The first thing that happens is that ticket-brokers come to the Stadium, and buy thousands of dollars worth of tickets at a time.
The brokers in-turn sell tours, and work in partnership with local hotels to bring-in Boston, and NY fans.
Now let us step back for a second and evaluate this process as a whole.
When the O’s release their individual tickets, can you fault the organization for selling the tickets to those that want to purchase them?
No, you can not.
When hotels are looking for tourists, and filling their vacancies, can you blame them for actively marketing towards Boston, and NY?
No, you can not.
On the other-hand, is it necessary for the Sheraton Inner Harbor, to place RedSox logos, and welcome signs all over their hotel?
So besides improving the on-field product, what can be done?
Here are my suggestions:
1) Tickets against Boston and NY are always going remain in-demand. The Orioles do not have to make those tickets available at the same-time as their other individual game-tickets. If RedSox and Yankee fans can not buy their tickets ahead of time, and plan their trips to Baltimore – they are less likely to come to Baltimore with only the hope of obtaining tickets.
2) Pick 10 games on the 2010 schedule that figure to draw an extremely minimal crowd, i.e. a game like Kansas City on a Wednesday night in April. Make it mandatory that to purchase tickets to Boston or NY, that you have to purchase a ticket to one of those 10 games. Maybe the paid-attendance will be thousands more for that KC game, vs. actual attendance, but at-least you would have increased your revenue.
3) Put out Oriole colors in-force, particularly bright Orange for those games. Shirts, towels, etc etc… Anything to make the Orange stand-out.
4) Put out special offers to your 29 game, and 13 game season-ticket holders. Even if ticket-demand increases in the 2nd-half next season, season-ticket demand will still be light. In addition to the Orange Carpet program, give the partial-game season-ticket holders 1st-crack, and deep discounts for obtaining Boston, and NY tickets.
5) The O’s offer discounted tickets almost every-game. This includes Bargain tickets on Tuesdays, and Student tickets on Friday. They should be commended for that. I think the O’s miss the boat, by not giving away tickets at times. If tickets were going to go un-sold, why not give them away to the surrounding community (OH, schools, corporations, etc) and get that additional concession money?
Even games against Boston and NY occasionally lack huge-crowds.
April 8th vs. NY the attendance was just under 23k.
April 9th vs. NY the attendance was 28.5k
May 9th vs. NY the attendance was 37k
May 11th vs. NY the attendance was 33k
May 29th vs. Boston the attendance was 36.5k
May 30th vs. Boston the attendance was 32k
June 1st vs. Boston the attendance was 29.3k
The O’s knew weeks before these games were played, that sell-outs were not going to occur.
Would it not have been better to give out 5-10k in tickets? Besides those additional concession sales, the atmosphere in the stadium would have been changed.
You could ask the Ravens for their season-ticket holders, and mail everyone on that list free-tickets.
Again, you could give tickets to your partner corporations, and local schools.
It certainly would buy the franchise some local good publicity.
6) The Baltimore Ravens have ‘Raven Roosts,’ the O’s should approach these groups about creating ‘Orioles Nests’. Give them attention, send out members of the organization (understanding the schedules for football and baseball are vastly different), and give them O’s tickets for free, if they purchase discounted Boston and Yankee tickets.
7) I would love to see the organization launch an effort (maybe in partnership with OH) where Baltimore fans buy O’s away game tickets at Fenway and New Yankee Stadium in-bulk.
I am now committed to obtaining a Baltimore away jersey, and attending a game in Fenway, with the intent of being just as obnoxious as those bandwagon fans.
What ideas do you have?
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.