Monday, March 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The Tigers, 0-12 against Cleveland last season, hope to fill some of the empty seats at Tiger Stadium by inviting the enemy.
In a full-page ad in the March 3 edition of Sports Illustrated, the Tigers announced discounts on tickets for the Indians' five games in Detroit this year. The ad features five pictures of Cleveland's mascot, the foolishly grinning Chief Wahoo, and a message to Indians fans:
"Hey Ohio, catch the Indians five times at historic Tiger Stadium for as little as $35!"
The ad offers an "exclusive" deal on upper deck seats -- five games for $35. A "five-pack" in the lower level goes for $55.
That's a $1 discount per ticket. Though it might not seem like such a bargain, phone calls and faxes started pouring in as soon as the issue hit the newsstand.
"The response has been good," said Mike Dietz, the Tigers' senior marketing director.
Detroit is only a 3 1/2 -hour drive from Cleveland. Plus, the Indians are on the verge of selling out their second straight season at Jacobs Field. The team sold all 3.2 million tickets for 1997 before the first fungo was hit in spring training. Additional bleacher and standing-room-only seats went on sale this weekend.
The Tigers hope to have about 30,000 fans for each game of a three-day weekend series against Cleveland May 9-11, Dietz said. About 20,000 are expected for each weeknight game Aug. 4-5.
But why would a team want to fill seats with fans who will root for the other team?
"I think the owners are just trying to line their pockets any way they can," said Indians fan Bruce Scott of Cleveland, noting that baseball attendance still has not fully recovered from the 1994 strike.
This cynical view won't stop Scott from taking the Tigers up on their offer, however.
"If it's on a weekend, I'll go up," he said.
The Tigers are hardly the first team to capitalize on the popularity of nearby rivals.
"I recall some of those games at Cleveland Stadium when there were more Toronto Blue Jays fans than Indians fans," said Jeff Overton, the Indians' vice president of marketing and communications. "It kind of created a college-type atmosphere."
Detroit finished last in the AL East with a 53-109 record last season and had the second-worst home attendance in the American League, averaging 14,427 per game.
The Indians, who won 99 games en route to their second straight AL Central title, led the American League in road attendance with 28,863 per game. Thousands of Indians fans showed up in Detroit and Chicago for games last season.
The Tigers' ad cost about $15,000 and reached an estimated 156,000 homes in Ohio, Dietz said. A similar ad aimed at Tigers fans went to 112,000 homes in Michigan. There also will be lots of local advertising.
"We'll spend 10 times as much promoting the series to Tigers fans," Dietz said.
For five games this season, though, it'll seem like Detroit is cheering for the Indians.
archive
