Eight MLB Teams Partner to Host More Non-Baseball Events
“More Than a Ballpark” aims to increase offseason traffic to historic stadiums
Posted On: October 10, 2024 By :Representatives from eight Major League Baseball teams and their host destinations announced a collaboration titled “More Than a Ballpark,” with the goal of expanding the utilization of their venues for meetings, events, private concerts and numerous other non-baseball gatherings throughout the year.
The announcement was made at a press conference at the 2024 IMEX America event at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
“Our goal is to make the general public and our travel partners aware of what’s possible at our venues year-round,” said Joey Nevin, vice president of Giants Enterprises, which works with the San Francisco Giants and Oracle Park. “The big way to do that is visually by showing them what we’re capable of with big events. We have that secret sauce of being at a ballpark — a historic landmark with incredible views.”
The teams and cities involved include the Arizona Diamondbacks/Visit Phoenix, Boston Red Sox/Meet Boston, Chicago Cubs/Choose Chicago, Los Angeles Dodgers/Los Angeles Tourism, Miami Marlins/Greater Miami CVB, Seattle Mariners/Visit Seattle, San Francisco Giants/San Francisco Travel and Washington Nationals/Destination DC.
The eight stadiums represented run the spectrum from more than a century old to just over a decade old, but all involved agree on wanting to find new events to host.
“All of our venues have started doing more than baseball games,” said Andy Blackburn, vice president of strategic partnerships for the Chicago Cubs. “Our core business is baseball, but we’ve started hosting more things like concerts or having our corporate partners using the ballpark on days when the team isn’t there. These teams have decided to come together, with the help of Major League Baseball, to host more events in our ballparks.”
Wrigley Field recently hosted a National Women’s Soccer League game in June and has two Big Ten football games on the schedule this fall, with Northwestern hosting Ohio State and Illinois. The NHL is returning to the venue with the Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Blues on New Year’s Eve, and will also host a Big Ten college hockey tournament. But the Cubs are thinking outside the box.
“Our idea is to do as many of those events as possible and not just sports events,” Blackburn said. “We’re looking for any and all events that might need a unique venue. This is our first stab at something like this, but all the MLB venues are doing more than baseball events these days, so I anticipate this growing.”
Chris Koenig, executive director of Dodgers 365, described how Dodger Stadium hosts a variety of private events when the team is on the road.
“VIP dinners offer unmatched onsite branding capability and an elevated experience that can include a behind the scenes tour, taking batting practice or even meeting a legendary player,” Koenig said. “If you put your meeting in an interesting place, people will show up and it creates a new experience. We also do private concerts that can be part of a conference for opening and closing night celebrations. As for holiday events, December is the offseason for every Major League park.”
The panelists also discussed ongoing and future improvement projects at their stadiums, including Centerfield Plaza at Dodger Stadium, Mission Rock at Oracle Park and Fenway Corners in Boston. All designed to draw more than baseball fans to the areas surrounding the stadium.
“There are roughly 270 days a year that our ballparks are available to host other events,” said Carrie Campbell, senior vice president of Fenway Park Events. “We are just starting this partnership and hope to have even more teams involved in 2025. We might not be friends on the field, but we’re all connected and working together off the field. A baseball stadium is a cultural attraction, and there’s an emotional connection that people have with the stadium.”
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