A more aggressive promotional schedule, combined with offseason ballpark improvements and a team rebranding, is leading to success at the box office for the Frisco RoughRiders (Class AA; Texas League).
The purchase of the team by Chuck Greenberg and Scott Sonju in August 2014 saw the decision made to crank up all aspects of the franchise. Things began solidly with a great facility in Dr Pepper Ballpark and a loyal fanbase, but more was on tap. From the Frisco Enterprise:
“You have to position yourself as the event – the night out,” said Jason Dambach, executive vice president and general manager.
In pursuit of full houses, team officials this year have taken a layered approach, mixing concession specials, theme nights, giveaways and added opportunities such as postgame base running and fireworks in hopes of appealing to all sorts of fans: families, singles, retirees.
“We are not reinventing the wheel here,” Dambach said. “These are things our franchise has done in moderation through the years, but this year we have really put on the full-court press.”
Indeed. Perhaps the biggest change among MiLB operators in the past few years is to make almost every game an event, as opposed to saving the big guns for weekends and holidays. The smarter summer-collegiate operators realized this a long time ago — when your season is only 25 or 30 games, there’s no room for error. But as we see in Frisco, upping the promotional efforts means increased attendance and increased awareness in the community — and that’s what will pay off in coming years.