Nationals Park Questions

[Natsinpwc]

A couple of brits who have a youtube channel focused on their travels visited Nats park for a game. Trailer is below, clip drops on 11/27

One dude is Rockin’ a Phillies hat in one of the scenes. Was Stan Kasten in on this?

[imref]

2023 promotions schedule features Ruiz, Gray, and Abrams bobbleheads.

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/tickets/promotions

[PowerBoater69]

This would be interesting. From Huntington to Navy Yard with seven stops and no transfers.

[imref]

This would be interesting. From Huntington to Navy Yard with seven stops and no transfers.

(Image removed from quote.)

Washington Post Headlines: May 15, 2039:
- New Blue Line Extension to National Harbor Opens
- Nationals / Orioles MASN Deal Remains Unresolved

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Maybe somebody with more ties and knowledge of local geography can correct me, but does the proposed tunnel from Georgetown to Rosslyn go under the same route that they originally proposed for I-66 when it was proposed to go through Georgetown?  I remember the 3 Sisters Islands as being part of that case.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Washington Post Headlines: May 15, 2039:
- New Blue Line Extension to National Harbor Opens
- Nationals / Orioles MASN Deal Remains Unresolved
- Man who ordered Shake Shack cheeseburger in 2022 is served

[imref]

Looks cool: https://www.washingtonian.com/2022/12/20/florida-man-opens-dc-bar-that-looks-like-a-swimming-pool/

[PowerBoater69]

The bar scenes north and south of the ballpark rival those at any other ballpark I've visited, including the Pirates and Cubs. Too bad the long stretches east and west of the ballpark remain wastelands.

[machpost]

The bar scenes north and south of the ballpark rival those at any other ballpark I've visited, including the Pirates and Cubs. Too bad the long stretches east and west of the ballpark remain wastelands.

I'll assume these places have done the math well in advance, but walking around the neighborhood at night during the offseason when Nats Park and Audi Field are dark, most of these bars and restaurants are almost completely empty. Attendance in 2023 will likely be worse than in 2022.

[PowerBoater69]

Anything I missed on ideas for how the Nats can sell tickets for a losing team?

https://www.talknats.com/2023/01/02/nats-sales-marketing-2023/

[Natsinpwc]

Anything I missed on ideas for how the Nats can sell tickets for a losing team?

https://www.talknats.com/2023/01/02/nats-sales-marketing-2023/

No. Very thorough. Hope the team has someone reading that.

The only thing missing is the product on the field which they seem uninterested in. At least this season there will be more young guys to cheer for. Last year they tried that as a theme which was a joke when you looked and saw Cruz and Franco and Hernandez.

[PowerBoater69]

The youth movement works for a while if a couple guys make big leaps forward but typically for every success story there'll be a guy who falls flat. A few more division wins than last year would be nice.

[imref]

Sell smaller beers at a lower cost. I’m not buying a $15 beer that will be warm before I’m halfway through it. Also kids get in free games.

Discount parking would be nice as well. I’m typically paying $25-35 to park these days.

Oh, and fewer shootings around the stadium.

[PowerBoater69]

Sell smaller beers at a lower cost. I’m not buying a $15 beer that will be warm before I’m halfway through it. Also kids get in free games.

Discount parking would be nice as well. I’m typically paying $25-35 to park these days.

Oh, and fewer shootings around the stadium.

Kids Eat Free was a nice idea last summer. Parking prices are ridiculously high, even if you get cheap seats there is no cheap way to get to the game. I wonder how many Nats fans know that two people have been shot leaving the ballpark in the past 18 months? Definitely makes me hesitant to take my kids, I pay more for garage parking when they are with me.

[PowerBoater69]

After writing that article I got an interesting note on the math at Nats Park. For $10 million a year the Nats can sell a club sponsorship. They'd have to sell about 455,000 tickets to 20 game plan holders in the 400 level to bring in $10 million. The club sponsors pay in big lump sums on four or five year deals, the ~12,000 plan holders need to be coaxed to renew each year. The plan holders require ticket reps, ushers, and reward points, the sponsor just wants signs and some Tweets from the official account.

The Nats got named one of the top 25 most innovative sports franchises in the world last year. (Apparently pitching analytics wasn't one of the criteria being measured.) Guys like Mike Carney probably read posts like this and laugh at the outdated premise that bringing in big crowds matters. A full ballpark is better than an empty one but there is a reason why we have stopped hearing from the various revenue chiefs, their priority is the bigger fish.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

PB - just how many sponsors do the Nats have?  The official smoothee of the Nats, the official bank (or two?), etc...  Is there a list somewhere?  I think the SPH get an annual survey from the Nats where they ask about the sponsorships and whether we knew what was the official this or that of the Nats and do we recognize which one has signage at the park, etc...

[machpost]

Surely they've seen how well the Pittsburgh Pirates model works, where they can be quite profitable while no longer even pretending to care about being competitive. At least the Pirates have a ballpark that's fun just to look at. Nats Park is starting to show its age and when the product on the field is uninteresting, there's not much else worth seeing there.

[PowerBoater69]

PB - just how many sponsors do the Nats have?  The official smoothee of the Nats, the official bank (or two?), etc...  Is there a list somewhere?  I think the SPH get an annual survey from the Nats where they ask about the sponsorships and whether we knew what was the official this or that of the Nats and do we recognize which one has signage at the park, etc...

I'm not sure how many but when I did those surveys years ago there were a heck of a lot more sponsors than I would have guessed. If Terra is paying $10 million per year I'd assume that the sponsors for the other two clubs, the garage, the three bars, the tarp, and the field level seats are all paying between $1-5 million each. A fan with a 20 game plan in the $22 seats asking for perks is just a flea on the dog to the revenue department.

[PowerBoater69]

Surely they've seen how well the Pittsburgh Pirates model works, where they can be quite profitable while no longer even pretending to care about being competitive. At least the Pirates have a ballpark that's fun just to look at. Nats Park is starting to show its age and when the product on the field is uninteresting, there's not much else worth seeing there.

The Pirates have the best ballpark in MLB and maybe the best in pro sports, most ballparks are going to pale in comparison. But the bars around Nats Park are better than just about any ballpark I've visited.

Used to be back in 2006-2011 the Lerners could bank tons of operating profit while fielding a low payroll team, before the new CBA changed the rules and forced the team to spend to make money. They can still profit from a losing club but not like it was during The Plan years. Pittsburgh is considered a small market so they get a bunch of advantages not available to the Nats, which is crappy since we don't own our TV rights.

[nfotiu]

I'm not sure how many but when I did those surveys years ago there were a heck of a lot more sponsors than I would have guessed. If Terra is paying $10 million per year I'd assume that the sponsors for the other two clubs, the garage, the three bars, the tarp, and the field level seats are all paying between $1-5 million each. A fan with a 20 game plan in the $22 seats asking for perks is just a flea on the dog to the revenue department.

I have to think there is a relationship between attendance and sponsorship money though.   For now they can point to decent attendance and viewership as a selling point for sponsors, but if you don't have a fly-by-night crypto company willing to throw away money, I don't think you are going to get many decent sponsorships if no one is going to the park or watching on tv.

[PowerBoater69]

I have to think there is a relationship between attendance and sponsorship money though.   For now they can point to decent attendance and viewership as a selling point for sponsors, but if you don't have a fly-by-night crypto company willing to throw away money, I don't think you are going to get many decent sponsorships if no one is going to the park or watching on tv.

That's a good point, most sponsors won't pay big bucks unless there are fans attending the games (with some exceptions like FIS who are targeting Washington big wigs who frequent the club level and Geiko who want their sign seen by everyone driving up South Capital Street). So my flea on a dog analogy doesn't really fit, more like the team sees the upper deck fans as birds on a hippo.

[imref]

fwiw, the Terra deal with the Nationals was 5 years / $38.5 million, so it doesn't seem realistic that the team is selling club sponsorships for $10 million a year. Terra is getting a lot more visibility for less than that.

[Natsinpwc]

This article discusses sponsorships and how MLB is trying to catch up to the Big Two leagues. It’s says Crypto spent $22 million but that includes all of MLB and three teams. Mets, Rangers and Nats. I expect most of that went to MLB and the Mets. Maybe a million or two to the Nats?

 I have not heard of any other Nats sponsorships. At least not in the large dollar range. Likely we would have heard about it. Article also notes that patch deals are now allowed and the Padres have one from Motorola for $10 million in 2023. I think in the end the teams with the best records will generally be the teams with highest attendance and also the most sponsorship $.  Hard to see any sponsor giving the Nats $10 million now. Maybe someone has other information? 

Edit. Sorry but forgot to post the article.

https://frontofficesports.com/newsletter/mlb-generates-1-2b-in-sponsorships/

[PowerBoater69]

fwiw, the Terra deal with the Nationals was 5 years / $38.5 million, so it doesn't seem realistic that the team is selling club sponsorships for $10 million a year. Terra is getting a lot more visibility for less than that.

You are right, I thought it was for four years. Still a lot of money with no need for a large team of ticket reps.

[Natsinpwc]

You are right, I thought it was for four years. Still a lot of money with no need for a large team of ticket reps.

Wonder if Terra is trying to escape the deal? 

Brings up thought of another easy revenue producer. Naming the stadium. Which for whatever reason they have never done. I think for the Nats this just helps them make up some of the lost ground with the MASN deal.