Crowds may be missing at Triple-A World Series

The first pitch has yet to be thrown at the Triple-A World Series, and already officials are saying "Just wait 'til next year."

The first World Series in triple-A history starts tonight at Cashman Field. The best-of-5 event features the Pacific Coast League's New Orleans Zephyrs and the International League's Buffalo Bisons.

Despite the World Series' historical significance, the turnstiles aren't expected to churn and the tills aren't expected to expand. Triple-A already is concentrating on the bottom line for the next two years. The World Series is scheduled for Las Vegas through 2000.

"In terms of its first year," PCL president Branch Rickey said, "I don't think you'll be able to measure its potential by the attendance or the sponsorships.

"We're not saying Las Vegas better treat us nice or we're going some other place. This is a honeymoon relationship. We couldn't be happier. We don't think there's any other market in the United States to draw fans from our other 29 (triple-A) markets."

Las Vegas Stars general manager Don Logan predicted Cashman Field's 9,334 seats will be little more than half full tonight and Tuesday night. Both games begin at 8 p.m.

Logan added ticket sales for Thursday's Game 3 have been hindered by its 12:30 p.m. start time. Around 3,000 fans are expected for that one.

The odd game times were mandated by ESPN2, which will air the entire World Series.

The ability to land national television coverage was a major hurdle. The financial status of the World Series was in question until a TV contract could be procured, but officials couldn't close the deal until after the season started.

"This year it's going to be a little bit of a challenge," Logan said. "But we want this to become an event for triple-A fans from across the country. It's going to take some time to develop that, but five nights of national TV ... you can't beat that."

Once the first World Series is complete, officials won't spend too much energy analyzing this year's bottom line. They immediately will shift their focus toward next year's.

"I think we're just going to scratch the surface of the potential this thing has," International League president Randy Mobley said. "Everything has to be done for the first time. There was no road map, and we made some missteps along the way."

The World Series was hampered by its inability not only to quickly nail down a television package, but also to tie in its ticket sales with the Stars' season-ticket plan.

With help from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the PCL and IL intend to hard sell next year's World Series. Their strategy consists of building World Series awareness in the 30 triple-A markets.

"Now we'll have a full 12 months on the promotional side," said Rossi Ralenkotter of the LVCVA. "It will give us time to work with some of the teams to work on more campaigns, and more time to work with ESPN to drive viewership.

"The uniqueness of the event, the first-ever World Series and the fact that it's Las Vegas, we think we can play off some of that."

Ralenkotter said the World Series has potential to develop into a money-maker for the city. He noted it meets the major criteria for a successful Las Vegas event: national TV and increased weekday tourism.

Ralenkotter compared the World Series to the Triple-A All-Star Game, which was played at Cashman Field in 1990. According to LVCVA statistics, the mid-summer exhibition drew 11,029 fans, which translates to $2.3 million in nongaming revenue.

While the triple-A wouldn't mind getting rich off the World Series, the league presidents say there is more to this event than money.

"It represents so many major pluses in minor-league baseball," Rickey said, "that it's going to receive the maximum support that baseball can possibly give it to make it a success."

Rickey and Mobley detected the effect of the World Series during their leagues' championship series. Both relayed stories of the players' desire to keep their postseasons alive, an unusual phenomenon in minor-league baseball, where most players can't wait to go home if they're not going to get called up to the majors.

"The aura of taking it to the next step and coming to Las Vegas has created a great feeling among the players that hasn't always been there in the past," Mobley said. "They're excited about it. They want this."

archive