The two approaches could not be more different.

For example, your local bank may run a promotion that promises to give new customers a $25 credit when they open a checking account.

In the Minors, they give away the same $25, but instead of executing an electronic transfer or handing someone a check, they have fans step into a phone booth full of swirling, wind-blown cash and urge them to grab all they can in 30 seconds.

Another example.

Your local bank probably puts suckers at the teller window for everyone to enjoy. (I personally enjoy the Blue Raspberry ones).

In the Minors, they hire helicopters to drop buckets of candy and marshmallows onto the playing field.

Kids participate in Quad Cities "Mega Candy Drop" promotion

I’m not saying that either approach is wrong. When we go to the bank, we expect a certain degree of professionalism. Most people would not enjoy seeing their loan officer brandishing a squirt gun while sporting a cartoonish mascot outfit.

However, when we go to a ballgame, we expect to enjoy the experience. That’s why the tongue-in-cheek, don’t be afraid to laugh promotional style used by many Minor League franchises is so successful. It’s the right approach in the right environment.

High school athletics could be marketed in that same vein. Unfortunately, local amateur sports are either a). marketed like banks as opposed to family-friendly entertainment or b). not marketed at all.

A little creativity can go a long way towards changing that, and a good place for high school athletics to start is by implementing small contests into their game day schedules.

Getting Creative with Contests

As I discussed in the last post, Minor League teams fill down-time between innings with fun, interactive games that involve the fans. Since these contests are only 1-3 minutes in length, they could easily be integrated into any athletic event (half-time of basketball, between quarters in football, etc.).

Coming up with a good contest idea is surprisingly easy. Just think of your current sponsors and ask “what do they do, and how can we turn that into something fun our crowd can interact with?”

By using this line of thinking, you might end up with something like a Subway “Sing for Your Supper” contest where two fans sing the “$5 foot long” jingle. The best jingle, based on audience applause, would win a Subway gift card (provided by Subway, of course).

The Blue Eye pulls ahead during the Cedar Rapids Kernels' Eyeball Race

Even service businesses can get in on the act. The Cedar Rapids Kernels stage a between-inning eyeball race at every home game. If you’ve never seen an eyeball race, it is exactly what it sounds like. Two fans, each dressed in a huge eyeball costume, race across the field. It’s quite a spectacle. And it’s also quite an advertising opportunity for the local optometrist that sponsors it.

These are just two examples. The possibilities are as endless as your own imagination.

Providing advertising opportunities that go beyond signage on the field and logos on the back of a program provides a unique value for sponsors. It helps make their brand “sticky,” or memorable. When other businesses in the community see this, they will want to develop partnerships with the school as well.

Getting Creative with Theme Nights

Contests are great, but why settle for a few minutes of fun when you can go the extra mile and provide a whole evening’s worth of memories?  That is the idea behind the ever-popular “theme night,” a promotional strategy mastered by the Minor Leagues.

If you’ve never been to a theme night, the premise is simple: the team picks a topic and then weaves it into every aspect of what goes on at the park on that given night.

And, as the Minors have proven, any topic is fair game for a theme night. Here is a short sampling of some of the more popular theme nights from the past year, with links to their descriptions:

• Plumber Appreciation Night (South Bend Silverhawks)
  

  An awful Marilyn Monroe hands a program to a teen during the Altoona Curve's annual "Awful Night"

• Awful Night (Altoona Curve)
• Fan Bailout Night (Clinton LumberKings)
• Country Night (Bowie Baysox)
• Salute to Cows (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers)
• “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” World Record Night (Wilmington Blue Rocks)
• Break a World Record Night – Largest Kazoo Rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” (Northwest Arkansas Naturals)
• Face Your Fears Night (Bowie Baysox)

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Theme nights like these help Minor League franchises make a connection with fans. Instead of simply being spectators, the fans become a part of something bigger. They also create publicity for the teams involved. People want to know what happens at an “Awful Night,” or a “Face Your Fears Night,” and that curiosity often leads to attendance.

Why Get Creative?

For those involved in high school athletics, theme nights and contests provide an opportunity to do something that’s simply not being done at the amateur level. In Indiana, there will be over 1,000 high school football games played this year. Triple that in basketball and baseball. The approach to these contests is pretty much the same. Schedule the games, and if people show up, they show up.

For large high schools with powerhouse programs, this type of hands-off approach is fine – people will still pack the stands. But, those schools are in the minority.

If the student-athletes at your school are playing in front of more empty seats than filled ones, maybe it is time to get creative.

Next Time: Using technology to make a fan connection

Related posts:

1. Lessons from the Bush Leagues: Applying the Minor League Mindset to High School Athletics (Part I)
2. Silver Hawks Find Promotional Inspiration in Plumbers, Mustaches
3. Drying Paint and Growing Grass Highlight Altoona’s Seventh Annual Homage to Awful

There may be better ways to spend a summer vacation, although I can’t think of any. For two months this summer, I traveled around the country watching Minor League Baseball games, thanks to a Teacher Creativity Grant from the Eli Lilly Foundation.

A large crowd looks on at Smokies Park in Kodak, TN

Officially, the idea was to study the marketing methods used by Minor League Baseball teams, which happen to be so good that they’ve helped some Minor League franchises across the country to record attendance, recession be damned.

Unofficially, I am never at a loss for an excuse to go watch baseball.

In the course of my travels, I was also hoping to get some ideas to bring back to the classroom.

Ah, the classroom – where I teach Business to high schoolers who are sometimes (most of the time) more interested in shooting arrows at balloons with a cartoon monkey (God bless internet games) than learning business fundamentals.

And while I did come up with the inspiration for a handful of great lesson plans, I realized that nearly everything I was seeing at the ballparks – the wacky promotions, the entertaining mascots, and the carnival-like atmospheres – could easily be applied to high school athletics.

It may sound outlandish, marketing high school sports in the same manner that a professional sports league markets its product, but, the reality is that Minor League Baseball and high school sports already have a lot in common.

I’ll give you a few examples in friendly, bullet point format:

• Due to athlete turnover, both the Minor Leagues and high school athletics typically promote teams as a whole as opposed to individual players
• In most markets, fans will attend Minor League games regardless of how well the team is playing. In other words, it doesn’t matter much if the team wins. Fans attend the games to have fun and see young talent develop. Is high school that much different?
• Minor League teams, especially in the lower levels where the teams play in smaller towns, are a big part of their communities.  As a result, the fan mix at most MiLB games is a cross-section of hardcore fans, casual observers, uninterested socialites, and hyper-active youngsters. In a lot of ways it is the same type of crowd found at a high school sporting event.

Any high school athletics program, regardless of size, can adopt a Minor League mindset to help boost community interest, fan support, school spirit, and attendance – all of which lead to more money for the school.

A group of mascots discuss their gameplan.

So, as a back to school gift for Athletic Directors everywhere, I will be offering a four part blog series on the tenets of the Minor League Mindset and how they can be applied to high school athletics.

Part I: Focus on the Fan

It is hard to create a caricature of the “typical” Minor League Baseball fan, because the crowds that attend the games are so diverse. All age groups and levels of interest are represented at the ballpark. Yet, for all their differences, fans at Minor League games seem to have one thing in common: they all have fun.

So, how do these franchises go about entertaining fans ranging in age from infants to octogenarians? Most minor league front office people readily admit that it’s not always about the team on the field.

Sure, some of the fans are there to watch baseball. But, even big baseball fans would have a hard time mustering up enough excitement to go see a lineup like this:

Means – RF
Sappelt – CF
Puckett – 2B
Mendez, C – 3B
Brown, T – LF
Coddington – DH
Day – 1B
Wideman – C
Rojas – SS
Janke – P

Not exactly household names. Nevertheless, 8,584 people piled into Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio to watch these Dayton Dragons take on the Fort Wayne Tincaps on July 2nd.

If it’s not the game itself, what’s drawing 8,000+ fans a night to Dayton, and other ballparks across the country?

Minor League baseball teams have an unrelenting focus on the fan. Everything they do is designed to entertain, and most of the entertainment is interactive. Downtime between innings is filled with contests, with the participants being plucked right from the crowd. Fans may race one another around the bases, sumo wrestle, dance on dugouts, sing karaoke, and play “Let’s Make a Deal” – all before the seventh inning stretch.

As one front office executive put it to me, “baseball is just a backdrop we use to perform our shtick.”

Fans not participating in the “shtick” are treated to what basically amounts to a live-action reality show. What nine-year old will be able to put on a Dragons uniform and race around the bases the quickest? Tune in between the fourth and fifth innings to find out!

All of these contests provide family fun and help turn spectators into participators and casual fans into season ticket holders. In addition, they provide a unique opportunity for your sponsors – an issue we’ll discuss next time.

A fan participates in a dice rolling game at Bowling Green Ballpark

Focusing on the fan also means providing a comfortable atmosphere. I visited over 20 Minor League stadiums this summer, and I don’t recall seeing a single scrap of paper laying on the ground in any of the concourses or men’s rooms. All of the stadiums were clean, all had good food (some obviously better than others) and regardless of where I was at, it was always easy to spot an usher if I needed something.

Adopting a Minor League mindset requires more from an Athletic Director than scheduling officials, chalking the field, and turning on the lights. It’s about creating an environment where people are always wondering “what are they going to do next?”

And, the beautiful thing is, adopting a fan-friendly focus doesn’t take a lot of extra money or staff. Work with students to develop theme nights and contests. Leverage your school’s existing website to advertise your programs (a topic which we’ll cover in part three). Partner with the booster club to find volunteers to serve as ushers/fan assistants.

In the end, fans that have fun at a sporting event will continue to come back. The Minor Leagues have proven that. There’s no reason why the same wouldn’t hold true at the high school level.

Next Time – Part II: Get Creative and Get Fans

What do these eyes have to do with drawing fans and providing value for sponsors? Find out next time.

Related posts:

1. Lessons from the Bush Leagues: Applying the Minor League Mindset to High School Athletics (Part II)
2. Kane County Cougars Thriving in Crowded Market
3. Micro-market Beloit Tries to Snap up Fans by Sticking to Basics

In addition to Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon, the movie also starred the Durham Athletic Park, and its “Hit the Bull, Win a Steak,” sign that resided above the right field wall.

The smoking bull has relocated to a new $100 million dollar ballpark in downtown Durham, but the old Durham Athletic Park lives on. It is currently undergoing a $6.3 million renovation that includes a new playing surface and upgraded seating in the grandstand.

Once completed, the park will serve as the home of the North Carolina Central University baseball team. Minor league baseball (which has an office less than one block from the field) will also use the facility for training umpires and other baseball personnel.

Related posts:

1. In Pictures: Baseball Hall of Fame – Cooperstown, NY
2. Modern Woodmen Park: The Diamond on the Mississippi (Ballpark Review)
3. In Pictures: Field of Dreams – Dyersville, IA

In the meantime I thought I would share a few photos from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The Hall holds a special place in the hearts of baseball fans, and rightfully so. The museum is packed full of artifacts from every era of baseball, many of which make you drop your jaw and say “how did they get that?”

I took a lot more photos than what I have posted below. If there is a specific item you would like to see, let me know.

Related posts:

1. In Pictures: Durham Athletic Park (Bull Durham Movie Site)
2. In Pictures: Field of Dreams – Dyersville, IA
3. Why Manny Cheated

Captain Awful, the original face of Awful Night (www.milb.com)

There’s a bizzaro-world of Minor League promotions. A twilight-zonesque place where fans are given their freebie on the way out the door. A place where elderly ushers dressed in drag escort fans to their seats. A place where half-eaten hot dog buns are tossed into the stands. And yes, God help us, a place where the music of David Hasselhoff is used to pump up the crowd.

The place is Altoona, Pennsylvania. The theme is “Awful Night.”

In its 7^th incarnation, the Altoona Curve’s signature event is a satirical take on the everyday ballpark experience. As far as promotions go, Awful Night is, by design, as bad as it gets.

Among the high (or low) lights from Awful Night 2009:

• Slugfest 2009 – A blistering race ran by two slugs, Milli and Vanilli, who were liberated from underneath a rock by a member of the Curve grounds crew. Depicted on the videoboard, the race began in the middle of the first inning and concluded four innings later when Milli slimed his way to victory.

• Bun Toss – Hungry fans were relieved in the second inning when the Curve’s mascot, Steamer, tossed plain hot dog buns into the crowd.

• Watching Paint Dry – Fans were riveted during the third inning by a videoboard demonstration of paint drying.

• Stick Pony Race – Admiral Awful races across the outfield on his trusty stick-pony.

• 7^th Inning Fan Cam – Proving that the double entendre is alive and well, the 7^th inning stretch featured a “fan” cam that highlighted some of the best electric fans the park had to offer.

• Gross Growing Contest – The seventh inning concluded with a grass (of the legal variety) growing contest between two Curve groundskeepers.

• Awful Giveaway, Part I – Fresh new t-shirts have no place at an Awful Night. So, in their place Curve staffers chucked “gently used” t-shirts into the crowd.

• Awful Giveaway, Part II – The last five fans to leave the park saw their diligence rewarded with a photo of the Curve PA man sitting on a horse.

• You Call That Music? – The soundtrack for Awful Night consisted of satisfyingly annoying amounts of Celine Dion, Ashlee Simpson, Cher, and David Hasselhoff.

The awfulness extended beyond the music, bad puns, and between-inning entertainment. On the field, the Bowie Baysox pitching staff turned in a performance befitting of Awful Night, giving up 12 runs on 12 hits while walking 9 and helping the Curve run away with a 12-3 victory.

With their seventh Awful Night, and other theme nights like “Salute to Quitters” and “Please Come to Altoona, Will Ferrell” officially in the books, Altoona has cemented a reputation as the Minor League’s Master of the Irreverent.

Related posts:

1. Lessons from the Bush Leagues: Applying the Minor League Mindset to High School Athletics (Part II)
2. Silver Hawks Find Promotional Inspiration in Plumbers, Mustaches
3. Kane County Cougars Thriving in Crowded Market

Quad Cities River Bandits - Class A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals

Modern Woodmen Park – Davenport, IA

Address: 209 South Gaines Street, Davenport, IA 52802

Opened: 1931 with major interior renovations completed in 2004

Capacity: 4,024

Ticket Prices: $5 – Berm, $7 – Bleachers, $9 – Lower Box, $12 – Club

Parking: $2 in large, paved lot next to ballpark on South Gaines Street. An additional, unpaved overflow lot is located underneath the Centennial Bridge.

Dates Visited:
June 25 – Box Score & Summary

Overview

Location, location, location. What holds true in real estate holds true in baseball as well. In no sport is stadium location as important as it is to baseball, where the backdrop of a ballpark can be as recognizable as the ballpark itself.

When done right, a stadium’s surroundings can provide aesthetics while also interacting with the playing field in ways that create lasting memories. Whether it is the memory of fans swimming after a Barry Bonds home run ball in the Bay of San Francisco’s AT&T Park, or the image of “2,131” being unfurled on the brick warehouse overlooking Camden Yards in Baltimore, some of the most iconic moments of modern baseball were enhanced because of stadium location.

And while the Major Leagues have their share of famous backdrops, one visit to Davenport, Iowa proves that the big leagues do not have a monopoly on stadiums with a view.

Modern Woodmen Park, home of the Low-A Quad Cities River Bandits, offers one of the most unique vistas in all of

The Centennial Bridge provides a unique backdrop for baseball

professional sports. Situated underneath the Centennial Bridge on the banks of the Mississippi River, Modern Woodmen Park combines classic stadium architecture, modern amenities, and dramatic river views to create a ballpark experience that is one of the best in all of Minor League Baseball.

Ballpark Features

Literally and figuratively, the star of Modern Woodmen Park is the Centennial Bridge. The iron bridge, with its graceful arcs, dwarfs the stadium below as it connects Iowa and Illinois, giving fans a dramatic view of the structure from nearly any seat in the ballpark. At dusk the bridge lights up, providing illumination that further accentuates its curves. It’s that view that had Hollywood calling in 2008, when producers picked the stadium as the main shooting location for the movie Sugar, a “fish out of water” story that portrayed life in the minors through the eyes of a Dominican pitcher.

On the ground, Modern Woodmen Park successfully combines old and new elements. The exterior of the park was constructed in 1931 and, aside from a few name changes to the front of the building, its classic red brick exterior and white concrete accents are still present in their original form – no small feat considering that the park was victimized by major floods in 1965, 1993, 2001, and 2008.

The interior of the stadium was gutted and redone as part of a massive $12.5 million renovation that was completed prior to the 2004 season. As part of the upgrade, the 78-year old ballpark now boasts a concourse that circles the entire ballpark, two outfield berm seating areas, a picnic and kids play area, a sky deck, 20 luxury suites, two souvenir shops, covered batting cages, and a pair of new scoreboards. The renovation has paid dividends at the gate, as attendance has increased nearly 56% since 2003.

In addition to the modern amenities, Modern Woodmen features two quirky, if not conflicting, twists.  The area beyond the right field wall is home to Tiki Village, a three hut establishment where fans can relax and enjoy Mississippi Mai Tais

The Modern Woodmen Park Field of Dreams

amid a tropical setting. While Tiki Village does have a water view and lounge beds, it feels somewhat out of place thanks to its neighbor across the field – 10 rows of Iowa corn that inhabit the area next to the left field bleachers.

Seating options at Modern Woodman range from $5 to $12 and include club seats, box seats, bleachers, and berm, with the best spots – those that offer a view of the Centennial Bridge and the Mississippi River -residing along the third base side.

Stadium Atmosphere

For a stadium that has a tiki-village in right field and a fully functioning cornfield in left, the atmosphere at Modern Woodmen Park is surprisingly low-key. Between inning entertainment, a staple at most Minor League parks, is kept to a minimum and is unobtrusive. Even the mascot Rascal, a tall raccoon decked out in a bandana and a cowboy hat, was scarcely seen in the seating bowl on the night I was in town.

The fans at Modern Woodmen were on the older side, with fewer kids at the park than I had encountered during other stops in the Midwest League. As a result of the older crowd, the action on the field seemed to be the number one attraction. This was especially true for two of the gentlemen seated next to me. One was a season ticket holder who was capable of giving scouting reports on every Cardinal farmhand who was playing with Quad Cities, and the other was a gifted heckler who found plenty of opportunities to hone his craft during the lopsided 12-3 affair. Even as the score grew out of hand early in the game, few fans left the stadium – a further testament to the high-level of interest River Bandit fans bring to the park.

I also had the chance to chat with an usher, Dave, who gave me an impromptu history of the ballpark as well as details on the filming of the movie Sugar. After one evening at Modern Woodmen, I left convinced that the park never has a shortage of friendly, Midwestern folks ready to talk baseball.

Conclusion

The turnstiles have been clicking at a rapid pace in 2009 for the Quad Cities River Bandits, and for good reason. Modern Woodmen Park is a complete baseball experience in a one-of-a-kind setting. Fans who find their way to this diamond on the Mississippi will not be disappointed, as it is one of the gems of the Midwest League, if not all of Minor League Baseball.

Related posts:

1. At Elfstrom Stadium, Kane County Cougars Fans Make the Difference (Ballpark Review)
2. Hot Rods Deliver Fun, Future Rays at Bowling Green Ballpark (Ballpark Review)
3. In Pictures: Durham Athletic Park (Bull Durham Movie Site)

Beloit Snappers - Class A Affiliate of the Twins

In professional sports you have big market teams and small market teams. And then you have the Beloit Snappers, a Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, who play in a market so small, it almost warrants classification as a micro-market.

Indeed, if there were a baseball franchise version of life-support, the Snappers would be on it.

What exactly has the Snappers gasping for air?

For starters, the Snappers play in a stadium that was built in 1982, long before owners and stadium architects realized they could print money by constructing luxury boxes and club seating.  Aside from the addition of patio areas down the left and right field lines, Pohlman Field is largely the same as it was when it was constructed nearly thirty years ago.

And while many baseball fans find Pohlman Field to be a charming throwback to a less-commercialized era of Minor League Baseball, the stadium’s lack of modern amenities was largely responsible for ending Beloit’s twenty-three year affiliation with the nearby Milwaukee Brewers, who dropped the city and moved to a newer ballpark in Charleston, West Virginia following the 2004 season.

Beloit's Pohlman Field Remains Largely Unchanged Since Constructed in 1982

Then there’s the city itself.  Beloit, a town of 37,000 just beyond the Illinois border in South Central Wisconsin, has no radio or television outlets. With no local media available, coverage of Snapper baseball must come from the neighboring cities of Rockford and Madison, which each have their own teams – the Madison Mallards participate in the Northwoods League, a summer collegiate baseball league, while the Rockford RiverHawks play in the independent Frontier League.

No media coverage. An outdated stadium. A small fan base. To say that Beloit is a challenging market would be putting it lightly.

Good thing Beloit General Manager Jeff Vohs enjoys challenges.

Vohs began his baseball career in 1999 when he served as a Scouting and Baseball Operations Intern for the Milwaukee Brewers. His hopes for a career with the Brewers were dashed after a front office shuffle saw many of his bosses leave the organization after the 99’ season. Undeterred, Vohs found his way to Beloit, where he worked his way from up from intern to General Manager over the course of five seasons.

Like many Minor League GM’s, Vohs wears a number of different hats. When I caught up with him at his ballpark office on a sunny Friday afternoon in late June, he was wearing his groundskeeper’s hat, watching the weather radar on his computer for rainstorms that might threaten that evening’s game against the Quad Cities River Bandits.

Rain is a familiar enemy in the Midwest League, where teams schedule 140 games a season, but usually only end up playing around 135 due to inclement weather. “In an environment like this, where a lot of fans are local, rain definitely hurts,” Vohs said, “if people think the weather is going to be bad, they’ll just stay at home.”

On this day, rain not only threatened the game, but also the cancellation of one of the team’s most popular promotions – a postgame fireworks show.

“We try to stick with what works,” Vohs said, explaining his back-to-basics promotional philosophy, “in this market, fireworks and beer promotions work. We could do like Kane County and schedule Myron Noodleman or Zooperstars, and those things might do well after two or three years, but as a non-profit team, I can’t justify spending $3,000 to $4,000 a night on those performers and not have it make an immediate impact at the gate.”

In addition to overseeing the club’s marketing efforts, Vohs is also heavily involved in baseball operations, communicating with the Twins front office regarding baseball matters on a regular basis.

His acumen as a baseball guy has not gone unnoticed. In 2006, the Twins arranged for Vohs to attend Major League Baseball’s Scout School, an intensive ten day camp designed to teach the intricacies of scouting major league talent.

Someday Vohs may trade in his job behind the desk for a job behind the radar gun, but for now, he is content with the Snappers. “It’s never dull,” Vohs said, “you’re always working on something different. Everyone here has a title, but everyone also helps take care of whatever needs to be done, whether it’s selling tickets, serving food, or cleaning the stadium.”

Despite the best efforts of Vohs and his grounds crew, baseball and fireworks were not meant to be on the day I visited, as a rain storm drenched the area about an hour before game time.

It’s not all dark clouds for Beloit, though. According to Vohs, the team is “in the process of finishing up a site plan and engineering study on some land in the Gateway area at the intersection of I-43 and I-90.”

Not only would a new stadium be a boon for the Snappers, it would also ensure the future of baseball in Beloit for decades to come.

Related posts:

1. Kane County Cougars Thriving in Crowded Market
2. At Elfstrom Stadium, Kane County Cougars Fans Make the Difference (Ballpark Review)
3. Lessons from the Bush Leagues: Applying the Minor League Mindset to High School Athletics (Part I)

Related posts:

1. In Pictures: Durham Athletic Park (Bull Durham Movie Site)
2. In Pictures: Baseball Hall of Fame – Cooperstown, NY
3. Micro-market Beloit Tries to Snap up Fans by Sticking to Basics

Kane County Cougars Class A Affiliate of the Oakland A's

Elfstrom Stadium – Geneva, IL

Opened: 1991 with renovations completed in 2009

Capacity: 7,100

Ticket Prices: Kane County has a tiered ticket pricing system with regular, prime, and premium dates ranging from $8 to $14 depending on the type of seat and date.

Parking: Free and ample parking next to stadium on a beautiful brick paved lot

Dates Visited:
June 18 vs. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers – Box Score & Summary

Overview
As any baseball fan can tell you, when you attend a game, the stadium itself is only a small part of the ballpark experience. It’s the fans that give a park personality and make it an enjoyable place to see a game.

With this in mind, I stepped into Elfstrom Stadium with a certain degree of trepidation. Elfstrom Stadium, home to the Class ‘A’ Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League, is just a short car ride from Wrigley Field.

View of Centerfield at Elfstrom Stadium

Having spent many summer evenings at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati watching the Cubs beat up on the Redlegs, I have, to put it politely, developed a dislike for the boys in blue – and their fans.

Although Kane County is an affiliate of the Oakland A’s, I fully expected to spend my time at The Elf surrounded by Cubs fans.

And I was.

But, something weird happen. Take the actual Cubs team out of the equation, and people wearing Cubs jerseys, hats, and shirts magically become a fun group of people to watch a game with.

Ballpark Features

Elfstrom Stadium received a $10.5 million face-lift in 2009 that added a covered concourse, skybox suites, and a second-level seating area to the 18 year old ballpark. Not that a lack of these amenities were keeping fans away. For the past 10 seasons, the Cougars have averaged more than 7,000 fans a game, making them one of the best draws in Minor League Baseball.

Elfstrom Park Prior to Renovations in 2009

Elfstrom Field Following 2009 Renovations

The eight million plus fans that have made their way through the gates at Elfstrom Stadium over the years have seen an impressive array of future big leaguers including Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, and most recently, Oakland rookie Trevor Cahill. The Cougars have paid homage to these stars by placing their likeness up on the front gates and on various signs throughout the park.

The park itself is your typical Minor League yard. The outfield wall is a symmetrical fence plastered with advertisements. Behind the wall are three covered picnic areas, each of which has a rusting façade, giving fans sitting underneath the new multi-million dollar grandstand the impression that more work is left to be done.

There are three scoreboards located in left-centerfield. All are small, and one –the board displaying the line score – wasn’t functioning at all during my visit. The two remaining boards display prerecorded video/graphics and game totals (R, H, E), respectively.

Scoreboards at Elfstrom Stadium

Trees line the area beyond the outfield wall and picnic areas, providing a backdrop that is common among Midwest League stadiums.

Fans at The Elf have three seating options in the lower-level of the stadium. Box seats make up roughly the first ten rows of every seating section at ground level. Directly behind each section of box seats are another 12-15 rows of reserved seating in the form of metal bleachers.  The box/reserved seating area is flanked on either side by a grassy berm area.

Thanks to the renovations, the ballpark also contains fifteen new luxury suites, which, according to the Kane County Cougars’ website feature “indoor and outdoor seating, climate control, satellite television, stadium audio and a top notch menu.”

Concourses at The Elf are clean and wide enough not to feel crowded, even when 7,000 people are at the park.

Stadium Atmosphere

The atmosphere at the Elf can best be described as a cross between the county fair and a baseball game. Throughout the stadium the smell of two of the Cougars’ signature concession items, Elephant Ears and Roasted Corn-on-the-Cob, fills the air.

General Manager Jeff Sedivy makes sure there are plenty of things going on to keep fans entertained. On the night I was in town, Myron Noodleman – a modern day Max Patkin – was performing his shtick at the stadium. And in true county fair fashion, the Cougars and Noodleman were followed by a fireworks show.

Another unique aspect of Elfstrom Stadium is the amount of interaction the Cougar players have with fans. While it is

Members of the Cougar Bullpen Clown Around with Myron Noodleman Between Innings

not uncommon to see Minor Leaguers signing autographs, Kane County seems to take the fan-player experience one step further. Prior to the start of the game Kane County players gather up armfuls of Cougar Logo Baseballs and toss them into the stands at eager fans. And get this: they actually looked like they enjoyed doing it!

Just before the home half of the fourth inning, the bullpen for the Cougars assembled in right field to join Myron Noodleman as he danced to the tune “Shout.” The level of energy, not to mention the smiles, displayed by the Cougars gave me the impression that they were having just as much fun on the field as the fans were in the stands.

And what about those Cubs fans that I was sure would wreck my entire Elfstrom experience? They ended up being the icing on the cake (or in this case the powdered sugar on a piping hot Elephant Ear). By the time I left the stadium I had met nearly everyone with three seats of my own. All were huge baseball fans (not just Cubs), and all were the kind of Midwestern friendly that you don’t find anywhere else. It only took about three innings before I felt like I was in a baseball version of the show Cheers, sitting in the section where “everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came.”

Thanks to my time at The Elf, the next time I am at the GABP in Cincy and the Cubs are in town, I may just reach over and shake the hands of those Cubs fans sitting next to me.

Especially if the Reds are winning.

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With so many teams in such a small area, it would be easy to see how a small Minor League franchise like the Cougars, a class ‘A’ affiliate of the Oakland A’s, could get lost in the shuffle.

Instead, the Cougars are navigating their way through the crowded Chicago sports scene just fine.

Kane County General Manager Jeff Sedivy has been going head-to-head with the big boys for 18 seasons – and succeeding. “When you’re going up against them (White Sox, Cubs, Fire),” Sedivy said, “you’ve got to have your pencil sharpened and be ready to go.”

Fans Line the Berm at Elfstrom Stadium

Based on the numbers, the Cougars are more than ready to go. Last season, the team averaged 7,160 fans a night, placing them second in attendance in the Midwest League (behind the Dayton Dragons), and 17^th among all of Minor League Baseball.

Although Sedivy doesn’t have the marketing budget of the Chicago White Sox or the brand equity of the Chicago Cubs, he does have one formidable weapon at his disposal – one of the best atmospheres in all of minor league baseball.

Fans that find their way to Elfstrom Stadium, located in the West Chicago Suburb of Geneva, are treated to the sight of big league hopefuls playing in front of near-capacity crowds of knowledgeable fans while the smell of Elephant Ears and Roasted Corn-on-the-Cob fills the air.

It’s an environment that is equal parts county fair and baseball.

And then there are the promotions.

Sedivy has packed the Kane County home schedule with a variety of events, including a Jimmy Buffet theme night, 30 postgame fireworks shows, and in-game performances from acts like Myron Noodleman, the Zoopsters, and Rubber Boy. According to Sedivy, the effectiveness of Kane County’s promotional schedule is due, in part, to the amount of variety that it offers. “We try to create promotions that everyone can take part in, so there’s something for everyone – mom, dad, and the kids.”

Cougar Players Toss Logo-Balls to Fans Prior to the Game

This “something for everyone” approach led to a World Record in 2008 as the Cougars set the Guinness mark for World’s Largest Pillow Fight, a 3,800 person, feather-infused melee.

Kane County Cougar Fans Participate in the World's Biggest Pillow Fight

Despite being one of the best draws in the Minors, Sedivy has no plans to rest on his accomplishments, especially in a down economy. “A lot of people say that Minor League Baseball is recession-proof, but I don’t believe that,” Sedivy explained, “We do a lot of group sales, and right now, groups are hurting.”

For those groups that are feeling the pain of a recession, the Cougars have the perfect cure: an affordable nine-inning vacation to the county fair that is Kane County Baseball.

Young Cougars Fans Getting Autographs

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