Cashing In On Sports
News Flash: Pirates’ Fans Want A Winner
By Guy Junker

Pitchers and catchers report this month as the annual Pirate pilgrimage to the gulf coast of Florida begins. Can Jason Bay avoid the sophomore jinx? How will Matt Lawton fit in? Will Jose Mesa be able to do it again? While these questions will eventually be answered, the Pirates’ organization has been considering another question for some time: How do we sell this team to a public that has grown weary of 12 straight losing seasons?

PNC Park opened to spectacular reviews in 2001 and the Pirates had their best year ever at the gate, attracting over 2.4 million fans. But as great as the venue still is, the novelty has worn off and attendance figures have dropped each year since. Last summer they fell to less than 1.6 million. Only the Montreal Expos, who have now moved to Washington, D.C., and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays sold fewer tickets than the Pirates.

There is a new man in charge of changing those numbers for the Bucs; his name is Tim Schuldt, Vice President of Marketing and Sales. He not only oversees the ticket and corporate sales departments, but will be in charge of marketing, promotions and advertising. He comes to town from Sonoma, California, where he held a similar post with Infineon Raceway.

“It’s a plus that I come in with a fresh set of eyes, with no bias of what went on in the past,” says Schuldt.

One of the first things Schuldt did was conduct a survey of his customers, anyone with any kind of Pirates’ ticket plan.

“We wanted to find out how well we know our fans, get some research and feedback under our belts, and we wanted to find out from those most dialed into the Pirates,” he said.
The focus groups showed that although people love the amenities at PNC Park, they still come to watch baseball first and foremost.

“And they are hungry for a winner,” says Schuldt. “They want to believe we have a chance to win every night.”

That was proven last year by the large amount of walk-up ticket sales for the games that Oliver Perez was scheduled to pitch. The 23-year-old had a tremendous season, leading all major league pitchers in strikeouts per nine innings. People simply wanted to see him pitch.

“We will be creative in our approach,” Schuldt says. “A lot of what we are going to do will be about baseball and watching it in a wonderful setting. This is a major shift in strategy.”

Schuldt is stepping in at a time when the Pirates have a core of talented, young players. It’s easier to promote baseball when you have guys like Perez and Bay, the organization’s first ever rookie-of-the-year. Jack Wilson has become an All-Star shortstop, has a new contract and is very popular with fans. And although there are some tender arms at the moment, the future of the team is concentrated in a group of young pitchers.

It’s time to get people to the park. Seven National League teams drew more than three million in attendance last year and all but three had at least two million. But Schuldt’s goals are realistic. He thinks the Pirates should be able to draw 1.6 million every year regardless of their record. Sales are already up 30 percent over last year at this time. A big part of that is the fact that people are already getting themselves connected for tickets to the All-Star game coming to PNC Park in the summer of 2006. Season ticket holders for this year and next are guaranteed tickets to the midsummer classic.

But it’s more than that. The Pirates sent renewal forms out earlier. They gave promotional things away like autographed Jason Bay baseballs and autographed Jack Wilson bats to those who paid early.

Schuldt hasn’t been on the job long, but has discovered that deep down Pirates’ fans want to watch winning baseball more than anything. Unfortunately, he can’t do anything to help the Pirates in the standings. But he can help them in the stands. Until they do win again, the hopeless feeling held by many fans won’t go away. But with a good group of young players, an upcoming All-Star game, and some solid marketing ideas, Schuldt is off to a good start.

Guy Junker covers sports business for Pittsburgh Sports Report.