ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230044
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: ANALYSIS
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
SALEM SETS another attendance record, but crowds haven't been what officials expected.
Is Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium half empty or half full?
That's a question Salem Avalanche officials have asked - literally and metaphorically - this season, as the Avalanche broke the franchise single-season attendance record but attracted fewer fans than expected to the $10 million ballpark.
The 1994 record of 153,575 fans was eclipsed Wednesday, when the crowd of 1,939 raised the season total to 153,732. With four home dates remaining following Thursday night's game with the Durham Bulls, it is likely the club will draw approximately 165,000 fans to Memorial Stadium, which opened Aug.7, 1995.
Despite the record, club officials have been mildly disappointed with the nightly average of 2,500 spectators at the 6,000-seat facility. The Carolina League ballclub had structured its budget anticipating crowds in the 3,500 range.
Nevertheless, team management is happy with the record attendance. And club officials say they have a better handle on how to market the new ballpark and attract more fans next season.
``We're still learning every night,'' said Sam Lazzaro, the Avalanche's vice president. ``Overall, we have to be pleased with how the first full season in the new ballpark has gone. A lot of things come up on a nightly basis that we weren't expecting. I think we've learned better ways to market the ballpark and attract fans. You've got to walk before you can run.''
Looking at Salem attendance figures for the past 10 years, it may be difficult to see why some Avalanche officials would quibble with this season's attendance. Since 1982, when Salem played in the beloved shoebox known as Municipal Field, attendance for Salem baseball has nearly quadrupled. Attendance went up each year from 1982-94, going from 42,145 in '82 to a total that should exceed 160,000 this season.
Attendance probably would have gone up again in 1995, which was supposed to have been Memorial Stadium's first year, but construction delays kept the team at Municipal Field until August. The club did not offer any special ticket discounts or free promotions last year, having expected a full year in the new facility. The club still drew 140,111 paying customers and averaged nearly 3,500 per game once the new park opened.
Coming off that finish, the club expected to draw well over 200,000 fans this year.
``Any time you exceed the previous numbers, you're happy with that,'' said Dave Oster, Salem's first-year general manager. ``On the other hand, we're not satisfied with everything we've done this year. We'll have to work harder in the off-season to create a larger audience.''
Oster came to Salem after working for the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks, which played before an average of more than 5,000 paying customers per night when Frawley Stadium opened in 1993. The Durham (N.C.) Bulls have averaged better than 5,500 fans per game in the first two years at plush, $15 million Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
While Salem did not expect crowds that large, it did expect the ballpark to be a larger draw.
``It's tough to make comparisons,'' Oster said. ``Wilmington is a larger market ... it's about 30 minutes from Philadelphia, an hour from Baltimore. Delaware really hadn't had professional sports before that, so those people were starved for baseball.''
Salem's attendance also was hurt by winter's reluctance to leave Southwest Virginia. The home season opened April 8 in a freezing rain and miserable weather kept crowds to an average of 1,622 through 13 April dates.
``We didn't come out of the chute real well,'' Lazzaro said.
The team has averaged 2,763 fans in the 48 dates since April. Attendance also went up after schools closed for the summer, but that didn't occur until mid-June because of all the snow days that had to be made up by local schools.
A closer look at attendance numbers puts this season's figures in a favorable light. When the Salem Buccaneers set the previous record in 1994, more than 50,000 fans attended games on corporate giveaway nights when local businesses would buy thousands of tickets and give them away as a promotion.
While not all of those 50,000 fans got in free to those games, it is estimated that as many as 30,000 did. The giveaway practice no longer exists.
``Keep in mind, everyone who attends this year is a paid admission,'' Lazzaro said.
Attendance was destined to be down before the first pitch of the season was thrown. Season-ticket sales were in the neighborhood of 500 after the team changed its long-standing policy of selling discount ticket books that were good for any game.
Instead, the club required that fans specify which games they planned to attend and the number of tickets they needed. When that ticket policy generated little response, management began selling vouchers that could be used to secure tickets for any game without having to specify months ahead of time.
``I think we made a mistake in doing away with the ticket books,'' Lazzaro said. ``We'll re-visit that during the off-season and likely come up with some type of method that's similar. We've learned that you have to be flexible through a 70-game season.''
The club still is expected to make money this season, despite absorbing higher costs of paying utilities in the new park and a game-night staff of between 100 and 140. At Municipal, utilities were cheaper and the staff numbered 40 to 50.
After this season's learning process, goals are high for next year.
``I think [an average of] 3,000 is reasonable for next year,'' Oster said. ``This was a learning experience this year.''
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by staff: Salem season attendance.by CNB