Top Menu

Promotions Watch: August/September Highlights

Fresno Tacos Uniform- Oreo Taco

The Minor League Baseball season is approaching its final days, but that does not mean that teams are slowing it down on the promotional front. Indeed, some of the more unique promotions of 2017 are taking place over what is remaining during the season, and we will take a look at those events in our latest edition of Promotions Watch.

August has already been a strong month for promotions, fueled in large part by the National Eclipse on August 21. Staging games around the eclipse proved to be a success for many teams—including the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Low A; Midwest League), Columbia Fireflies (Low A; Sally League), Greenville Drive (Low A; Sally League), and the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (Short Season A; Northwest League)—making it one of the more memorable days of the season.

The National Eclipse is already in the rear-view mirror, but there are plenty of notable events around the corner. On August 24, the Fresno Grizzlies (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) will host Oreo Taco night. The promotion will see the team take the field in a specialty Oreo Tacos uniform, and Oreo ice cream tacos will be added to the concessions lineup for the evening.

The Erie SeaWolves (Class AA; Eastern League) also have a unique promotion in the works, as the team is set to host Alternative Facts night on August 25. For that evening’s promotion, the SeaWolves will hand out 2016 Eastern League championship rings to the first 1,000 fans in attendance (the SeaWolves were, of course, not league champions last year). Alternative Facts night will also be staged alongside one of the team’s more notable weekly promotions, Fauxback Friday, when the SeaWolves take the field in 1970s inspired jerseys.

Fauxback Night Frisco

Speaking of Fauxback promos, the Frisco RoughRiders (Class AA; Texas League) have their offering planned for September. From September 2-4, the RoughRiders and Midland RockHounds will wear fauxback jerseys inspired by the 1970s looks of their respective parent clubs, the Texas Rangers and Oakland A’s.

The Quad Cities River Bandits (Low A; Midwest League) are planning a twist on the Mega Candy Drop, one of their signature promotions. Rather than candy, it will be Matchbox cars that fall from the skies on September 3, when the River Bandits host the Mega Matchbox Drop. Following the game, a helicopter will drop toy cars onto the field for kids to claim.

Sticking to a theme of promotions that involve a helicopter, the Spokane Indians (Short Season A; Northwest League) are planning a money drop for September 1. As part of that promotion, 2,000 $1 bills will be dropped onto the field postgame, giving fans the opportunity to scoop up some money.

Music lovers should enjoy a promotion that the Tacoma Rainiers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) are planning to offer. On August 31, the Rainiers will feature We R High Voltage, a promotion that will include a pop-up record store from Tacoma’s Hi-Voltage Records, and staff members from the store will be selecting in-game music. The promotion will also include a post-game screening of Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz.

On the heels of their successful eclipse promotion, the Columbia Fireflies (Low A; Sally League) will stage a unique promotion in conjunction with their regular season home finale on August 31. For that night, the Fireflies will feature Purple Game 2.0. The Fireflies first hosted a purple game last year in honor of Prince, and this year will pay tribute to Prince and John Blackwell Jr., a former Prince drummer and Columbia native who passed away earlier this year at the age of 43.

The Fireflies will take the field that evening in special Prince-themed jerseys. The jerseys will be auctioned off to benefit the Marching Keenan Raider “Rubber” Band from Keenan High School.

The final days of the season will bring one of the more notable history-themed promotions of 2017. On August 30, the Buffalo Bisons (Class AAA; International League) will stage their 30 Seasons Downtown Celebration. The promotion is part of the Bisons year-long celebration of the 30th anniversary of Coca-Cola Field, which made its debut in 1988. The August 30 game will feature a replica 2004 championship banner giveaway—the third and final in a series—and include $1 hot dogs.

With very little time left in the season, fans will be heading to ballparks around the minors for one last look at baseball action. The timing, however, is clearly not hindering the promotions, as many teams are ending the year on a strong note.

This article first appeared in the weekly Ballpark Digest newsletter. Are you a subscriber? It’s free, and you’ll see features like this before they appear on the Web. Go here to subscribe to the Ballpark Digest newsletter.

, , , , , , , ,