QuikSand
06-26-2006, 07:18 AM
Okay, yet another concept thread for the gang here at FOFC. My first thought was that this would be an individual enterprise, seeking complete submissions from each poster -- but I'm thinking that a collaborative approach might be the better way to go. In any event, hope you enjoy.
Bill Veeck III (any similarity to persons living or dead (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Bill+Veeck) is purely deliberate) has been apointed to commandeer the minor league baseball team from our area. We're right here in the heartland of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and the good people of our hometown just love our Shamokin (http://www.city-data.com/city/Shamokin-Pennsylvania.html) Dopes, an independent single-A club.
The Dopes have brought in the Veeck bloodline for obvious reasons -- putting butts in seats. This is not a gigantic enterprise, but we are here to help Bill to build enthusiasm for the Dopes, and to boost attendance and enthusiasm at home games.
So - our mission: Design a schedule of "typical game night" in-game diversions and activities that will suitably help the bottom line for the franchise.
We'll accept certain things as givens:
- We have no control over the actual baseball operations -- we're in charge of the sizzle, not the steak
- We are enabled to do things that require staff, but for most duties we'll have to pay someone to do real work -- and botom line considerations are meaningful here
- We can probably count on some degree of volunteerism for events that we might want to stage -- there's probably some wannabe theater type around town who'd be willing to do semi-regular emcee type gigs just for the exposure, but heavy use probably requires a stipend
- For items that are fairly public in nature, we can probably count on nominal sponsorships from local businesses -- so, Larry's Donut Shack and Thai Noodle Kitchen in downtown Shamokin will probably be willing to give us a gift certificate if we announce their name and slogan as part of an event
- Relatively incidental materials like pop music and sound effects -- things that might be easily retreivable by a savvy web-enabled forum member -- are considered to be free (or negligible), as we're small enough to fly under any licensing/royalty radar
- We're already housed in a suitable small-scale ballpark with the usual amenities, but nothing out of the ordinary (use common sense here -- we have loudspeakers and bullpens, but not a giant video screen or synthetic exploding volcano in center field)
- This given slot is reserved for future use
- We are free to dress up this game as much as we like, but we shoudl be restrained by real-world conseuqneces, too -- the more we extend the games and take away from the baseball itself, we might attract non-baseball fans, but we might alienate some of our current fans and baseball purists as well -- these considerations should be considered fairly
- - - -
With that, here's what we want to do:
-For most half-inning breaks, there is a 1-2 minute window of time to occupy while the teams exchange positions. We need to decide how to fill it, if at all. Music selections, or other stadium broadcasts, and so forth can be selected specifically.
-Most games feature a seventh-inning stretch - an extended break offering a little more time for entertainment and perhaps audience participation. We are charged with establishing a "tradition" for the seventh innning stretch at Dopes games.
-We are at liberty to stretch out the breaks for purposes of other entertainment, within the bounds set by the last item under the givens -- we need to be appropriately respectful that some people actually do come out for the baseball game.
-We are trying to focus on the "typical night" agenda, so let's reserve thoughts on special promotions (the stuff we'd only do once a year) for a separate thread, if merited.
Have at it. Billy V is counting on us to uphold the family name and we need to get those turnstiles spinning.
Bill Veeck III (any similarity to persons living or dead (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Bill+Veeck) is purely deliberate) has been apointed to commandeer the minor league baseball team from our area. We're right here in the heartland of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and the good people of our hometown just love our Shamokin (http://www.city-data.com/city/Shamokin-Pennsylvania.html) Dopes, an independent single-A club.
The Dopes have brought in the Veeck bloodline for obvious reasons -- putting butts in seats. This is not a gigantic enterprise, but we are here to help Bill to build enthusiasm for the Dopes, and to boost attendance and enthusiasm at home games.
So - our mission: Design a schedule of "typical game night" in-game diversions and activities that will suitably help the bottom line for the franchise.
We'll accept certain things as givens:
- We have no control over the actual baseball operations -- we're in charge of the sizzle, not the steak
- We are enabled to do things that require staff, but for most duties we'll have to pay someone to do real work -- and botom line considerations are meaningful here
- We can probably count on some degree of volunteerism for events that we might want to stage -- there's probably some wannabe theater type around town who'd be willing to do semi-regular emcee type gigs just for the exposure, but heavy use probably requires a stipend
- For items that are fairly public in nature, we can probably count on nominal sponsorships from local businesses -- so, Larry's Donut Shack and Thai Noodle Kitchen in downtown Shamokin will probably be willing to give us a gift certificate if we announce their name and slogan as part of an event
- Relatively incidental materials like pop music and sound effects -- things that might be easily retreivable by a savvy web-enabled forum member -- are considered to be free (or negligible), as we're small enough to fly under any licensing/royalty radar
- We're already housed in a suitable small-scale ballpark with the usual amenities, but nothing out of the ordinary (use common sense here -- we have loudspeakers and bullpens, but not a giant video screen or synthetic exploding volcano in center field)
- This given slot is reserved for future use
- We are free to dress up this game as much as we like, but we shoudl be restrained by real-world conseuqneces, too -- the more we extend the games and take away from the baseball itself, we might attract non-baseball fans, but we might alienate some of our current fans and baseball purists as well -- these considerations should be considered fairly
- - - -
With that, here's what we want to do:
-For most half-inning breaks, there is a 1-2 minute window of time to occupy while the teams exchange positions. We need to decide how to fill it, if at all. Music selections, or other stadium broadcasts, and so forth can be selected specifically.
-Most games feature a seventh-inning stretch - an extended break offering a little more time for entertainment and perhaps audience participation. We are charged with establishing a "tradition" for the seventh innning stretch at Dopes games.
-We are at liberty to stretch out the breaks for purposes of other entertainment, within the bounds set by the last item under the givens -- we need to be appropriately respectful that some people actually do come out for the baseball game.
-We are trying to focus on the "typical night" agenda, so let's reserve thoughts on special promotions (the stuff we'd only do once a year) for a separate thread, if merited.
Have at it. Billy V is counting on us to uphold the family name and we need to get those turnstiles spinning.