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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1505828
S P O R T S MARK STEFFENS 64 BCBUSINESS.CA SEPTEMBER 2023 Q This is the second year that your club has been playing long-season ball [starting in April instead of June]. How are ticket sales going? A They're pretty dead even to last year, which is decent given that we had such a rainy April. Last year the schedule maker was a little nicer: we had six April games. This year we had 15 of them. If you remember the weather in April, it was not great. It was a slow start—our first three games of the year rained out completely, so we had to play two of those on the road in Spokane and we lost one to the schedule altogether. But we're pretty confident we can make up the difference in July and August. Last year, we had about 320,000 fans through the gate. Our goal this year is 325,000, and we think we should be able to achieve that by season's end. Q The long season must have been a bit of an adjustment. How have you found the crowds at those earlier games? A We draw around 2,500 fans per game in April, and between 5,000-6,000 in July and August. That's just what it's going to be. Kids aren't out of school, parents are busy with all their activities and things. Time frees up in the summer. TAKE ME OUT We sat down with Vancouver Canadians vice-president of sales and marketing Walter Cosman to learn how the high-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays is doing at the box office It's weather dependent; people want to come out on a nice beautiful day and watch baseball. We get more of the diehards in April and May, but that's okay, it's all an added bonus, it's all gravy. We went from 38 home games to 66, so that's a nice uptick in fans. Q After being owned locally for years by Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney, the Canadians were bought at the beginning of this season by California-based Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns a slew of minor league baseball teams. What has the new ownership been like to work under? A They've been very hands off and have let our president Andy Dunn run things day to day. He's been here 16 years and knows what he's doing. There's been monthly reporting of things and other stuff we've had to hand off, but they're really not involved in the day-to-day business of the club. Q Where have your marketing efforts been focused this year? A They're focused in two areas. One is in the early season, just to remind people that our season is starting and we have games in April and May. So we encourage people to come out, and to see activities, whether it's our superstar series or ex- MLB players coming in for certain dates. The second thing is just to remind people of the experience and to come out again. All of our exit interviews are extremely positive—everyone has a great time at the Nat. Q How can you improve on that? If everyone already knows it's great, what more can you do? A We encourage people to buy early. We have our Nat Packs, which are flexible, and we want people to redeem them as soon as possible because games sell out in July and August—we turn away a lot of fans in those months. The capacity is 6,400 and when we're full, we're full. A lot of people in Vancouver are last- minute planners, but unfortunately when they wait two or three days before, those July and August games are sold out. So we try to do everything we can to encourage people to book seats early and get them before they sell out. Q You've worked for a couple of high-profile brands before the Canadians, with stints at Steamworks and Granville Island Brewing. What's it like to represent brands like that? A I've always said from a sales and marketing standpoint that you want to work on something you're passionate about. I was in the beer industry for more than 20 years, and I'm now transitioning to baseball: that's two things I'm very passionate about. And so is the customer. I can't imagine selling pencils or widgets for a living. Even if I go to a dinner party with my wife, people want to talk about the Canadians. I enjoy that. I could probably go sell pharmaceutical products and make a bit more money, but I wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much. I've followed my passions and enjoyed every moment of it. £ One night in early July, infielder Alex De Jesus hit for the cycle (meaning that he hit a single, double, triple and home run in the same game). Vancouver Canadians staff couldn't find another case of a player doing that for the team. By mid-July, the 21-year- old from the Dominican Republic was tied for team lead in home runs, with 10. He's currently ranked No.21 in the Blue Jays' prospect system. P L AY E R TO WAT C H