Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/853654
12 Hartford Business Journal • January 30, 2017 • www.HartfordBusiness.com launch an expansive media campaign, pro- moting its upcoming 140-game season via television, radio, print and online, Abramson said. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the major-league Colorado Rockies ballclub. Despite the Yard Goats' aggressive out- reach to sponsors, the team still bills itself as "family entertainment.'' Ticket prices, ranging from $6 to $16 for advance tickets to game-day prices from $8 to $18, are the same as when the team was the Rock Cats. Concession prices have yet to be set, but Abramson vows there "won't be any $20 beers'' like in many big-league ballparks. Each of the team's 70 home games this season are pocked with promotions. Fire- works will be a staple most night games. Other fan-appreciation events on deck include foam-finger, baseball cap and mas- cot Chompers bobble-head giveaways, and "baseball bingo.'' During the July 14-16 home series, there will be a "Whalers Alumni Weekend,'' in which ex-players from the former Hartford NHL team will be in atten- dance. UConn Health signed on as "present- ing sponsor'' for that event. "Carnival" atmosphere Stadium novelties, like the giant, center- field Dunkin' Donuts coffee cup that will emit steam for each home run, each have a role in enhancing the park's fun atmo- sphere, team officials say. The coffee cup is an extension of Dunkin's stadium-branding, It et optatur empedici assusti onsequodita sitis quuntumquod eatissi dias volenitae sitia voles est ut plignient, sus. courtesy of the huge "Dunkin' Donut Park'' sign at the main entryway. "It's part carnival, part ballpark,'' Abramson said. "When you walk into the main gate and the see the size of that sign, it tells you you're not walking into a ballpark, you're walking into a carnival midway.'' With names like "Dark Blues Diner," "The Grazin' Goat," and "Huck's Hot Corner," the stadium's food-beverage concessions will contribute to the loose, fun atmo- sphere Yard Goats games intend to evoke, Abramson said. Centerfield also houses the "Travelers Fun Zone,'' where kids play on "bounce- houses'' and other playscapes while their guardians enjoy the game. Unlike the old play zone in New Britain, Hartford's has a view of -- and can be seen from -- the ball- field, Abramson said. In addition, the Yard Goats have signed several regional and national acts to en- tertain fans during down times. No matter that it will be a new stadium in a new venue, team officials say fans still expect the enter- tainment "schtick'' that is routine in most minor-league ballparks. "We have to satisfy their expectations,'' Abramson said. "Whether it sells tickets or not is less the point of it than making sure people have a full experience.'' Proof that minor-league teams' promo- tions connect with fans, he said, is that Major League Baseball teams have begun copying some of the smaller league's more popular fan attractions. Reaching a diverse audience The Yard Goats say they are working with four local/regional advertising-marketing agencies to promote the team to a wide swatch of the Hartford and New England region. Maria Lino, principal of The Latino Way, a downtown Hartford advertising-marketing house, says her firm is helping the Yard Goats "build a bridge between the team with our local neighborhoods.'' Many in Hartford's Puerto Rican and Dominican communities grew up with baseball, and some still play in various recreation leagues, Lino said. It's into that audience, as well as the African-American market, the Yard Goats want to penetrate more deeply. All Yard Goats games will be broadcast in English (WPOP AM 1410) and in Spanish (WPRX AM 1120), and will be available on the iHeartRadio radio app. All home games will also be videostreamed on MiLb.com. Aug. 18 will be "Roberto Clemente Day'' at the stadium, celebrating the late Pittsburgh Pirate and humanitarian. "It's important to have that soul of the neighborhood reflected in the [stadium's] daily activities, said Lino, an avowed soccer fan. "That feeling of pride has to be there.'' Abramson added that, "The promise of the ballpark is that it would be everybody's ballpark. It does a disservice to the community if we're only marketing in English.'' It et optatur empedici assusti onsequodita sitis quuntumquod eatissi dias volenitae sitia voles est ut plignient, sus. HBJ CONGRATULATING JOIN JESSICA AT SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 6-10PM 40 UNDER 40 CLASS OF 2017 JESSICA HINMAN