www.HartfordBusiness.com • October 23, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 3
Newsmakers
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Downtown development
"Columbus Commons will
be the catalyst for a new wave
of development and energy in
our downtown area."
New Britain Mayor Erin
Stewart reacting to the
groundbreaking of a $58
million mixed-use development
— including apartments, office and retail space —
located downtown near a CTfastrak bus station.
Urban desires
"No one is leaving Connecticut
for Boston or New York City
because of taxes. We are quite
frankly a suburban state. It's not
what people want at the moment."
Patrick Flaherty , an economist
at the state Department of
Labor, quoted in a Bloomberg
article about Connecticut's loss of major corporate
headquarters, including Aetna's and Alexion's.
Brad Smith | General Manager, New Britain Bees
By John Stearns
jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com
Like a relief pitcher brought in with the bases loaded,
no outs and asked to shut down the opponent, Brad Smith
has a difficult task. He's up to it.
He's the new general manager
of the New Britain Bees, which
saw its 2017 attendance fall by
20,000 visitors to the lowest in
the Atlantic League of Profession-
al Baseball. Opening of Dunkin'
Donuts Park, acclaimed home
of the Hartford Yard Goats and
Double-A Colorado Rockies affili-
ate, certainly stung, "but we did
not do a good enough job selling
our own product," Smith said.
"We need to ramp up season
ticket sales and group sales and
develop a fun-filled promotional
schedule," he said. "The worst
thing you can do is to be boring."
Smith comes from the Bridge-
port Bluefish, which shared an
owner with the Bees and played
in the same league. Bridgeport, though, chose a new sta-
dium use and the team moved to North Carolina. Smith
handled accounting for the Bluefish and helped close the
stadium, splitting time with the Bees, where he focused
on managing food and beverage operations.
Smith knows baseball. He played shortstop at Middle-
bury College in Vermont, entered the business side with
the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Lookouts (Double-A Minnesota
Twins) and shared management/ownership of the Kan-
napolis (N.C.) Intimidators (Single-A Chicago White Sox)
for 10 years, until 2015, with his father.
What's the biggest challenge you face in your job?
To assemble and develop a sales staff that can lead
the Bees to significant attendance growth.
What's the biggest challenge facing the Bees?
To educate the public that
Atlantic League baseball is
top-notch, comparable to AA
and AAA. We have a working
agreement with Major League
Baseball, so many of our players
get signed by MLB clubs.
What's the biggest opportunity
you face in your job?
To bring a fresh, energized and
experienced perspective to the
franchise. The Kannapolis Intimi-
dators situation was similar to
here. Our stadium was 20 miles
from the Charlotte Knights' new
AAA stadium and we were able to
run a successful business under
these circumstances.
What's the biggest opportunity
facing the Bees?
To increase attendance by maintaining our loyal fan base
we had in Bridgeport. We are developing a strategy and
promotions to hopefully turn Bluefish fans into Bees fans.
How do the Bees plan to compete against the Yard
Goats and Dunkin' Donuts Park?
We need to execute our business plan perfectly. Even on
nights when we go head-to-head with Hartford, they only
hold about 6,000 people. There are more than enough fans
to fill New Britain Stadium. It is our job to get them here.
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