A plan to capitalize on spring training’s popularity in Glendale is coming up short, as the Dodgers and White Sox attempt to change the rules on how games are marketed.
A plan to capitalize on spring training’s popularity in Glendale’s Camelback Ranch is coming up short, as the Dodgers and White Sox attempt to change the rules on how games are marketed.
The pair came up with an aggressive plan to monetize spring training by pushing season-ticket sales and coming up with nine national sponsors who would fork over $200,000 for the privilege of marketing to spring-training attendees.
Anyone who’s worked in spring training knows marketing interest in game is local: local restaurants and services marketing to local and transient fans. There’s nothing uniting spring-training attendees past their interest in spring training (truth is, a good chunk of those attending games care nothing about the teams or players and are just looking for a good time in the sun).
We’re not quite sure how the teams marketing the demographics to potential sponsors. But we’re guessing the case wasn’t too compelling, as no firm has signed up for the plan.
And so far season-ticket sales have come up short — only 2,000 or so have been sold.
The lesson here: there are limits to how spring training can be monetized. Spring training isn’t merely a month-long extension of the regular season, as it attracts a totally different fan base attending games for different reasons. And because of the short length of the spring season, exactly what can be marketed comprises a very narrow list.