Matt Malm on Tour
Promotional Seminar - Austin TX
Benjamin Hill Talks About Minor League Promotions
Phil Elson: The Art of Goofiness
Book Lights
Punch List
Greg Coleman on the Golden Baseball League
Greg joined the Golden Baseball League after serving as Vice President for American Sports Entertainment, the parent company of several minor league baseball and hockey teams.
Prior to joining ASE's corporate office, Greg spent four seasons with the Modesto A's Professional Baseball Club. Under Coleman's guidance, the franchise achieved its two highest single-season attendance marks and received Baseball America's 2003 Bob Freitas Award for franchise excellence. Prior to joining the A's as their Assistant General Manager in 1999, Greg handled sales, marketing, and media relations for the Daytona Cubs (Class A) of the Florida State League and the Orlando Rays (Class AA) of the Southern League.
Greg joins us for the October Interview to discuss the new Golden Baseball League.
Gameops.com: What is the GBL?
Coleman: The Golden Baseball League is a professional, independent baseball league operating in California and Arizona. The GBL will operate under a single-entity ownership model with the league owning all the individual teams. The model is designed to consolidate common functions like purchasing, graphic design, and human resources to create a streamlined operating system and financial stability especially during the league's developmental years.
Gameops.com: When do teams start playing?
Coleman: The GBL will start play in June 2005 with talent equivalent to the Class-A level. Each team's schedule will be approximately 90 regular season games.
Gameops.com: When do teams start to build their staffs and marketing plans?
Coleman: We spent a large part of the summer identifying experienced general manager candidates to lead our efforts at the team-level. The first two tasks the GM's will focus on will be developing an integrated marketing plan and finding the right people to help bring the plans to life. In a few charter cities, those projects are already underway.
Our marketing strategy will be a little different because of our ability to share resources. The entire league will have a recognizable brand with all of the teams sharing a core group of single-game promotions. By sharing this core, we'll be able to be more cost-effective and maximize our staff's time at the team-level. You'll still see each team hold its share of creative promotions, and we hope to foster that creativity by not having team-level staff members spend their valuable time with basic administrative tasks like ordering baseballs, fireworks, or insurance.
Gameops.com: Will the GBL be participating in the December trade show?
Coleman: Given my background in affiliated baseball, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to attend the trade show. It's a great opportunity to network with old friends and introduce the industry to our brand of baseball. Also, I promised my wife and son a trip to Disneyland this year.
Gameops.com: What is your background?
Coleman: My first pro baseball position was as Director of Marketing & Media for the Daytona Cubs in the Florida State League. I followed that experience with a character-building year as the Director of Sales & Marketing of the Orlando Rays. Now that was a challenge!
While in Orlando, I was offered the opportunity to join the Modesto A's as their Assistant General Manager. In less than two years I was promoted to GM. In my three years as GM, we enjoyed some great milestones including the 2003 Class-A Freitas Award and achieving the top two single-season attendance marks in the franchise's 58-year history.
After the '03 Winter Meetings, I joined Modesto's parent company, American Sports Entertainment, to implement our systems for all of its teams. That position prepared me for this opportunity with the GBL.
Gameops.com: Since family entertainment will be a big part of the sell for the GBL, how do you envision games in terms of promotions, mascots, and contests?
Coleman: Like other affiliated and independent minor league teams, GBL teams will place an emphasis on affordable family entertainment. Of course we'll feature promotional staples like fireworks and music, but we'll try to present a complete experience.
The concourse will be clean and buzzing with activity. We'll rotate our between-inning offerings to keep the experience fresh. Each team will have an active mascot, and the league will have its own traveling mascot act that will perform in each city two or three times per season. We'll also place a great deal of emphasis on cause-related promotions. We want to champion youth sports and education in our communities and ballpark promotions are a great way to make a difference.
EnterSport Convention Update
Baseball Bats and Balls
Patrick Klinger from the Minnesota Twins
Promotional Seminar - Austin TX
Knit Beanies
