Cards prepare for season No. 8

For Matt Gifford and his Springfield Cardinals staff, preparing Hammons Field for the eighth season of baseball means more than business as usual with some new twists. Gifford, the Double-A club’s general manager, is faced with finding new promotions to attract large crowds to the 70 home games scheduled this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals minor league team is coming off a season with an average of 5,109 tickets sold per home game, the lowest tally since the inaugural year in 2005, when per-game average of 7,523 fans passed through the gate.

Even with cold, damp weather early and stifling hot weather midyear, the team drew 337,166 fans including an average of 7,000 during the last two home stands.

The team should get off to a good ticket-sales start when it plays host to the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals for an April 2 exhibition game.

Both teams will be under the guidance of rookie managers – Mike Matheny for St. Louis and Mike Shildt for Springfield.

To accommodate additional fans at the exhibition game, the Springfield Cardinals brought in temporary bleachers for general admission seating. Only a limited number of these seats will be sold in conjunction with the purchase of a season or champion ticket package. With the added seats, Gifford said the stadium would accommodate between 9,000 and 10,000 people, and he’s expecting a sold-out game.

This year’s Texas League home opener is April 5 against the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A team of the American League Champion Texas Rangers.

Regular-season ticket prices are holding steady at last year’s levels.

Advanced tickets cost $45 for the Champion’s Club; seats for the Redbird Roost above the third base line cost $24, which includes unlimited food and soft drinks; box seats range between $8 and $14; and general admission is priced at $6.

This year is the second full season of the Champion’s Club, an air-conditioned large suite along the right field foul line. Champion’s Club has six televisions and indoor and outdoor seating, as well as unlimited food and soft drinks, plus four adult drink tickets.

Suites above the grandstand provide businesses with a place to see the game while socializing with customers and employees, and Gifford said the suites are getting new carpet and televisions this year.

Empire Bank has shared a suite with two other companies since the stadium opened. “We use the suite for customers and prospective customers’ entertainment, as well as employee team-building events, and for recognition of employees’ work,” said Empire President and CEO Russ Marquart. “We want to support the Springfield Cardinals, and as a community bank, we feel it is important to keep the Springfield Cards here.”

Gifford says season tickets are on par with last year, but he declined to disclose how many have sold to date. A limited number of six 10-game Champion Packs are new this year. These ticket packages include two games per month, and are aimed at fans who want fewer games than the full-season, half-season or quarter-season ticket packages offer.

Special World Series commemorative promotional items will be given to fans this season, including replica trophies and rings, and a champion beer stein – the same items distributed at Busch Stadium. New promotional giveaways are planned for the season including long sleeve team T-shirts, a Jason Motte garden gnome, plus Matt Adams, David Freese, Alan Craig and Ozzie Smith bobbleheads. Cardinals’ Hall of Famer Smith will throw out the first pitch July 1.

The World Series trophy will be on display in Springfield April 20–22 with a special event for season ticket holders to have their picture taken with the trophy.

Another special event, Fireworks at the Field, will be held July 4 in partnership with the Urban District Alliance. Afternoon activities at the Mediacom Ice Park, the Creamery Arts Center and the Discovery Center will culminate with a Cardinals game against the Midland RockHounds, the AA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, followed by a Members Only concert and the fireworks show. Last year, more than 10,000 people attended the Fourth of July festivities in Jordan Valley Park, and that was without a ballgame. Admission tickets to all events for ages 5 and up, including a general admission ticket to the game are $7 in advance and $8 on July 4. Fireworks at the Field tickets go on sale June 18 at Springfield Price Cutter stores. City Utilities will provide free bus shuttles linking all venues to parking lots for the event.

For fans who want to watch the Springfield Cards at home, there will be 12 home games this season televised on KYTV or KCZ (CW). KY3 Inc. General Manager Brian McDonough estimated costs for televising the home games at between $15,000 and $20,000 per game.

“We think televising Springfield Cardinals games is a great thing for the community,” he said. “ It helps create a sense of community pride and entertainment.”

KYTV is televising the St. Louis vs. Springfield exhibition game on the CW, and the opening night game on KY3. Satellite costs preclude road games from being televised.

Gifford believes the TV exposure will entice some people to come to the ballpark and see a game in person.[[In-content Ad]]