Thanks to the inconsistent genius (today is an "up" day) of Mother Goose & Grimm, in case you missed today's funny papers, we have a baseball joke time-stamped approx. 1960 ...
The Jays have removed the free ticket and 2 free seat upgrades in their flex packs. For a team near the bottom of the league in attendance, you would think they would be adding incentives to buy tickets and not taking them away. I wish the Jays had deals/giveaways like the Rays, A's, and Pirates have. I like what the Jays have done in terms of marketing the team across Canada but they still have a lot of work to do surrounding the Jays gameday experience.
Here's a suggestion: I would LOVE to see a whole thread on the Jays' gameday experience, including comparisons with what happens at other stadiums, with an eye to encouraging the Jays/Rogers brain trust to improve the fan experience at Roger's Centre.
That might include stuff that happens on the field, on the scoreboard, at the concessions. Just an idea.
That might include stuff that happens on the field, on the scoreboard, at the concessions. Just an idea.
Jays' gameday experience
There is an age of delineation and I don't know exactly what it is. On one side is the demographic that professional sports venues are intentionally targetting. On the other side is myself and the many others who have been watching professional sports for a long, long time.
As a member of the non-target demographic, I just have this to say to today's professional sports venues: shut the hell up.
There was a time when fans were not bombarded with one obscenely loud inanity after another, to fill each and every void in between innings, in between pitches, in between heartbeats. You could go to a game and talk to those around you, and appreciate the quiet in between innings. That quiet was actually welcome. It was not a torturous chasm that screamed out to be filled with fan cams or sausage races or frontal lobotomies.
Of course, there's no likelihood for a return to quieter, more genteel days. Baseball has decided it wants to be like the other pro sports, with a 200-decibel hip hop soundtrack and the faux cool that engenders.
We don't need a return to a Ken Burns-inspired sepia-toned game experience, but a little less catering to an ADHD-generation would be nice.
Now get off my lawn.
There is an age of delineation and I don't know exactly what it is. On one side is the demographic that professional sports venues are intentionally targetting. On the other side is myself and the many others who have been watching professional sports for a long, long time.
Concur! Some of the things I enjoy, like the little video interviews. Even the Jays saying "Pizza" or "Nachos" every single game (its a repeating thing) isn't awful, nor when they show wacky plays. However the Bruce Power energy race (formerly the AMJ Campbell race, natch) is awful (and also I'm pretty sure it encourages people to turn unused lights on at night,) and basically anything that they use to sell stuff is pretty crummy. The one kind of cool thing, the we are Toronto, that they used to do in the 9th they've scrapped also. It was derivative but at least got people cheering. Oh well, at least Ryan Greer's gone.
If I had to guess I would say that the ticket thing is because the team anticipates that they are going to be substantially better and are going to start drawing more fans. That or some sort of business strategy about not undervaluing your own product. They've made getting the Rogers pass much harder, and eliminated any cool promotions, like toonie Tuesdays and cheap food, over the last 3-4 years as well.
They have got to start showing instant replay at the stadium - I don't give a rats ass about the umpires' feelings.
It's not a generational thing. It's an advertising thing. They say it's a generational thing to convince themselves it's an improvement. Who knows if they actually succeed in fooling themselves.
McLuhan time. The various technologies we now use in our everyday lives change us. Walking down the street talking on a phone or surfing the web, or playing a video game on the subway, changes our perception of time and activity. The mindset is not really ideally suited to the time and pace of a baseball game. People do, of course, long to escape the mindset, but tend to prefer the other extreme- cottages, zen gardens, whatever. Baseball naturally fits in the unhappy middle.
We are in the slow part of the off-season so I wouldn't mind a thread dedicated to the Jays marketing/gameday experience.
I would also like to see replays on the screen. I can't think of a single reason why they don't show it. Based on what I see and experience, I'm convinced the Jays don't even have a marketing department. The whole experience of going to a Jays game is very vanilla for the majority of the games. The Jays rarely have any giveaway or theme days. The atmosphere outside the park is usually lifeless with very little going on. The food selection inside the Skydome is atrocious. Outside of the on field product, the Jays needs to ask themselves why so many people are watching on TV but not going to the games.
The Jays have been sliding back in the marketing department ever since Paul Beeston came back. He's the person that ended the Flashback Friday's and said the Jays had to stop celebrating the glory days. He's also against free/discounted tickets. I also believe he removed the free trip to Florida during Spring Training for season ticket holders and got rid of the perk of being able to use a luxury suite for one game.
I would also like to see replays on the screen. I can't think of a single reason why they don't show it. Based on what I see and experience, I'm convinced the Jays don't even have a marketing department. The whole experience of going to a Jays game is very vanilla for the majority of the games. The Jays rarely have any giveaway or theme days. The atmosphere outside the park is usually lifeless with very little going on. The food selection inside the Skydome is atrocious. Outside of the on field product, the Jays needs to ask themselves why so many people are watching on TV but not going to the games.
The Jays have been sliding back in the marketing department ever since Paul Beeston came back. He's the person that ended the Flashback Friday's and said the Jays had to stop celebrating the glory days. He's also against free/discounted tickets. I also believe he removed the free trip to Florida during Spring Training for season ticket holders and got rid of the perk of being able to use a luxury suite for one game.
i thought the 'benefits' in the flex packs were already gone...
The Jays management made a conscious decision before the 2010 season to give away fewer tickets. That year, for example, they took away a popular feature: the 20-game flex pak i had purchased for several years previously had included a ten-seat bonus of tickets in April or May (free bonus tickets not available for Opening Day or for Yankees/Red Sox games) . In 2010 those bonus tickets were taken away, leaving the price of the package unchanged (and an "effective" price increase of about 50%!) Similar moves were made to other packages. And I recall reports in the press that Blue Jays management understood that moves such as this contributed to the decrease in attendance esp in early 2010...
Plus you folks are quite right that we need some work to enhance the in-game experience. The food is just not adequate. With the exception of a few of the premium booths, most of the concession stands have limited menus, and are staffed with surly inadequately trained kids. Lineups can be significant; I have heard people complain about having to line up twice to buy even something as basic as peanuts (Peanuts not sold at foodstands but only in the beer line?).
i contrast the experience at Rogers Centre with what i got last year when i took my kids to their first Raptors game at the ACC. The food staff and the other stadium staff were falling over themselves to be friendly and helpful. Now, Raptors ticket prices are higher; and given the shape of the Raptors team, perhaps they do have to work harder. And thankfully even my kids said after the game said they prefer baseball. But the point is that the Raptors team management does try harder. So can the Jays.