It's time of year again! You grab your friends, your wife, your kids, and anyone else and go out to the ballpark!
Fans may notice that throughout sports, teams have placed more emphasis on promotional nights throughout the season. Promotional nights give fans a little more incentive to come out to the ballpark and enjoy something a little out of the ordinary. Promotional nights can offer fans a variety of different incentives such as collectibles, entertainment, special jerseys, and so much more!
On August 19th, the Brooklyn Cyclones (High-A affiliate of the New York Mets) are hosting a 'Seinfeld Night', dedicated to the critically-acclaimed hit TV series 'Seinfeld'. This promotional night includes 5 options that fans can choose from. All of them including a George Costanza bobble head. This idea was seen as fun and original and is sure to bring out fans to the ballpark. The Frisco Roughriders (Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers) also went the route of dedicating a promotional night to a popular TV series by introducing 'Yellowstone Night' (July 23rd), dedicated to the hit TV series Yellowstone. A ticket to that night includes a special Roughriders-dedicated belt buckle, as well as an appearance from Denim Richards, who stars as Colby Mayfield on Yellowstone.
Taking a look at MiLB.com's list of the Top 10 Minor League Baseball Promotions of the 2010s list, we can see why these promotions were as successful as they were. In 2011, the Fresno Grizzlies (Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies) ran a 'Taco Truck Throwdown' night. The night featured seven taco local trucks coming out to Chukchansi Park and drew more than 10,000 fans to come out to the ballpark. Safe to say the promotion was more than successful. Another entry on this list found a way to stand out with its' creativity. In 2015, the Toledo Mad Hens (Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Back to the Future film series with a doubleheader. The first game of the doubleheader featured the Mud Hens wearing 1980s-themed throwback jerseys. The second game of the doubleheader. featured the team wearing future-themed jerseys. Take about creativity.
Some promotions are just downright outrageous. In 2006, a team in Atlantic City, New Jersey hosted a Terrell Owens Unappreciation Night. During this promotion, fans received a whoopee cushion with NFL HOFer Terrell Owens' face on them.
Statistically, promotional nights are proven to bring more fans out to the ballpark. According to morningconsult.com, 2 in 5 U.S. sports fans have attended a sporting event with a theme night. That's nearly half of all sports fans attending one. Because of information like this, it is clear that promotional nights do have a positive impact on the amount of fans that come out to the ballpark.
The bottom line is clear: Promotional nights do make a night at the ballpark fun! Both Major and Minor League Baseball have a great lineup of promotional nights from all teams around the league this season. Go ahead and visit your local Major or Minor League ballpark and indulge in what the promotional nights have to offer!
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