Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 10, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 13 T H E B U S I N E S S O F S P O R T S F O C U S W The more, the merrier e Worcester Red Sox minor league baseball team will start play in the city in 2021, but the team will join a sports market already with at least four other minor league teams: Worcester Railers men's hockey, Massachusetts Pirates arena football, Worcester Bravehearts collegiate baseball and Worcester Blades women's hockey. When polled online, just over half of WBJ readers were bullish about all these team's ability to thrive in the market. F L AS H P O L L "I believe that the different sports, different seasons and different price points will all contribute to a niche for each team in the market." Can the Greater Worcester market support five professional sports teams? "Hockey and football appeal to different audiences, but multiple teams in those sports will find it hard to survive. The better the competition and talent, the better the chance for success. The AAA baseball team will be the most successful. A future AHL affiliate will also be an upgrade from the Railers." "When the economy is strong, it's possible that five teams can flourish, but once things start to slow down some of the teams will suffer, particularly as corporate sponsorship budgets start to tighten up." No. Even some major league teams in larger cities struggle to break even. 18% Yes. Everyone will find their niche in this new competitive environment. 22% Yes. More sports teams will drive more visitors to the area and grow the market. 31% COMMENTS: grams like a sports management confer- ence to be held in January at Worcester State University held with the Massachu- setts Pirates and Worcester Blades. Community programming and a working relationship with the Red Sox would ensure the Braveheart's longevity in Worcester, Peterson said. e team is already forging stronger ties to the com- munity, including a Brave- hearts-Railers collaboration on a literacy program in Worcester schools, awarding free game tickets if a child reads at least 10 books in a month. "We'd look forward to working with the Red Sox on similar activities," Peterson said. Asked if he was worried about spon- sors relocating their advertising money to the Red Sox's Polar Park in the Canal District, Peterson said it was too early to tell. "Ask me in two years," he said. "Our challenge is to continue to come up with unique, memorable ideas for sponsors so they feel the value in investing in the Worcester Bravehearts." Despite that optimism, Matheson doesn't see the Bravehearts lasting more than a few years aer 2021. In addition to being the same sport, both play during the summer months and will inevitably play on the same days. e Red Sox will be playing about 70 games at Polar Park in a 10,000-seat stadium they hope to fill, drawing up to 700,000 fans per year. Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field – where the Bravehearts play their 28 homes games – can fit 3,000 fans. "at takes a lot of people off the market," Matheson said. Pirates, Blades optimistic e Pirates indoor arena football team is coming into the team's second season at the DCU Center next April. e sport, said owner Jawad Yatim, is unlike any other in Worcester. "In my opinion, it's the most exciting in the city," he said. His optimism for longevity in Worces- ter is bolstered by a TV deal with NESN – the channel carrying Boston Red Sox games – set to expire aer the end of the next season. "It's great that other teams are coming to Worcester, but I'm just looking for- ward to the Pirates' season," he said. For about two years, the Worcester Blades women's hockey team struggled to find a permanent home in the Boston area until August, when it signed a deal to relocate to the Fidelity Bank Worces- ter Ice Center in the Canal District. Attendance is usually hard to come by for women's hockey, as the team averages about 300 fans per game, same General Manager Derek Alfama. Sponsorship has been slow to unravel, but Alfama said the excitement around sports in Worcester and a close relation- ship with the Railers position the team well for the future. "ere's plenty of room for everybody," he said. Railers bookend WooSox e Railers seem to be the team best capable of coexisting with the city's shiny new base- ball team, Matheson said. Owner Cliff Rucker has been a central figure in the city's remaking, investing more than $25 million in Worcester prop- erties, including the $18-million Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center, where the Railers practice. Matheson said the Railers Tavern next to the DCU Center has been a popular restaurant for sporting events and before and aer DCU Center events. Of all the teams questioned about collaborations with the Red Sox, the Railers seem to be the most involved, said Myers, the Railers president. "We've had a lot of discussions on a cordial basis," he said. "ey've been great to work with so far." e teams have collaborated on sev- eral small events so far. Red Sox officials even took in a Railers game last fall with city officials as Worcester still was convinc- ing the team to leave Pawtucket. e Red Sox brand, Myers said, elevates the city's status as a sports town. "A rising tide raises all ships," he said. Another reason for the Railers' rosy outlook for their place in Worcester's sports community is the fact hockey and baseball seasons bookend one another. e Railers begin play in the fall and finish in the spring, while the Red Sox begin play in the spring and finish in late summer. "ere's no question that the impact on our business, from the competitive standpoint, is lessened with the fact that their opposite seasons," Myers said. WooSox hope to grow the market Dan Rea, general manager of Worces- ter's incoming minor league baseball team, said the Railers have already been a close partner as the team looks to establish itself as a top brand in town. e Red Sox have reached out to sev- eral teams in the city, some more than others, Rea said. Of the four other teams in the city, only the Pirates said they had not had talks with anyone in the Red Sox organization. ough the Red Sox and its affili- ates are ingrained into Massachusetts culture as much as Dunkin' coffee and potholes, Rea called the organization the new kids in town. As such, the team wants to help pro- mote other organizations, including the Bravehearts. ere's probably something to learn from the Bravehearts' community-based business model, Rea added. Like the MLB's Boston Red Sox, Rea said the tentatively named Worcester Red Sox are hoping to draw fans from all over New England, not just Worces- ter, thus expanding the size of the sports market for all the city's teams. Worcester is centrally located with ma- jor highways passing through, allowing the team to pull from the entire region. Rea said the team's confidence in Worcester's ability to sustain a variety of sports franchises was reflected in its very decision to come to Worcester. "We studied everything from the city itself to its ability to be a home base to a greater region," he said. Jared Yatim, owner, Massachusetts Pirates No. There are only so many corporate sponsorships and ticket sales to go around. 29% Cliff Rucker, owner, Worcester Railers Worcester sports franchises *Moving to Worcester in 2021 Source: Each team, hockeydb.com, Ballpark Digest Pawtucket Red Sox* Baseball 66 5,982 (2018) Worcester Railers Ice hockey 36 4,393 (2017-2018) Worcester Bravehearts Baseball 28 2,356 (2018) Massachusetts Pirates Arena football 9 About 3,000 (2018) Worcester Blades Ice hockey 14 300-350 (2018) Number of Average Team Sport home games attendance

• Cover