Edmonton’s Western Major Baseball League team targets a different demographic
By Brian Swane/EXAMINER STAFF
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Pat Cassidy leans over in the John Fry Park bleachers.
“See that?” the Edmonton Prospects owner and GM asks, motioning to two men and two women in their late-teens or early twenties, wearing ball caps and munching on sunflower seeds.
“That’s our demographic right there.”
Aiming squarely at their target market, the Prospects held “College Weekend” during their first series of the
Western Major Baseball League season last week. The three-game set against the Lethbridge Bulls featured a beer garden and half-price tickets for students.
With the Golden Baseball League's Capitals (powered by the Rexall Sports marketing machine) clearly going after families’ business, Cassidy figures the Prospects might be able to find a niche among the university-age crowd.
Of course, Cassidy also wants to attract moms and dads and sons and daughters to watch the Prospects. The team is comprised of players, several local, out of the U.S. college ranks.
“It’s good baseball,” says Cassidy. ”You’ll see some good plays, some great athletes, so as far as game play’s concerned, I don’t think the average baseball fan is going to be able to tell the difference (from the Capitals).
“From a consistency standpoint, their players might be a little bit better, so there is that step up in calibre, but the difference is we have a bunch of players who are looking to move up in terms of placement in the college ranks, and hope to get drafted. It’s a different type of player.”
The Prospects plan to focus a large chunk of marketing on specific weekends rather than spread it out, says Cassidy. Future promotions include a pair of series at Telus Field, “Stubble Jumper Weekend” (a salute to all things Saskatchewan), and “K-Days Renaissance Weekend.” They will also host a couple more beer gardens at John Fry Park.
This is the Prospects’ first season at the retrofitted John Fry Park. They played part of their inaugural season in 2005 at Telus Field, then spent 2006 and 2007 in St. Albert, before suspending operations last year.
Around 100 fans attended opening night Friday. Braving windy conditions, a few dozen spectators watched Sunday afternoon as Edmonton downed the Bulls 7-5 to win the series.
“We know if it’s going to be a success it’s going to be a slow thing,” says Cassidy.
“We’re prepared to hang in there. We have to build this thing one seat at a time, focus on some specific weekends, try to draw the numbers, and then hopefully see some residuals of that.
“We’re in it for the long haul.”
bswane@edmontonexaminer.com
