IRONPIGS TICKETS GOING FAST

By Jeff Schuler

OF THE MORNING CALL

December 3, 2009
E-mail Print Share Text Size

If you're thinking about asking Santa for tickets to next summer's Triple-A All-Star Game at Coca-Cola Park, you'd better hurry.

According to IronPigs general manager Kurt Landes, fewer than 1,000 seats, not including standing room, remained as of Dec. 1 for the July 14 showdown between the stars of the International and Pacific Coast leagues.

''Response has been outstanding,'' Landes said. ''With what we've sold so far and have had to hold back for league executives and other sources, we probably have less than 750 seats remaining.''

There is a catch, however -- it's likely the only way to obtain All-Star tickets is by holding an 18-game or larger season ticket plan. Those sales, Landes said, have been brisk since the end of the 2009 season.

''More people have renewed earlier than last year, and we have had more new sales with an interest in All-Star Game tickets,'' Landes said. ''We've also had a strong upgrade from nine-game plans to 18 games or more, primarily because those fans wanted All-Star tickets.''

Landes said the IronPigs had the equivalent of about 4,300 full season tickets last summer, when the team was one of three in minor league baseball to surpass 600,000 fans for the season. He anticipates exceeding that total by as many as 300 this season.

''We will exceed our goals and have a larger season ticket base than last year,'' Landes said. ''We set a goal of around 4,550, and I would anticipate we get close to 4,600 or so.

''I'm curious to see what the Christmas season brings,'' he added. ''We've done very well over that time period the last years.''

Landes still isn't sure how the nearly 2,000 standing room tickets available for the All-Star Game will be distributed. ''After the new year we'll take a good look at the inventory available, and what to do with the standing room situation,'' he said.

Preparations for the All-Star Game and the accompanying festivities are ''halfway through'' the second of three phases, Landes said.

Those festivities include ownership meetings for both leagues, committee and sub-committee meetings of Triple-A owners and executives, receptions and luncheons for the players and their families, and sponsorship receptions, among other events.

They also include the ''Pigapalooza'' fan fest on the preceding Saturday and Monday's All-Star workouts and home-run derby, which will include participants from area high schools.

''It's like planning a convention at the same time you're trying to put on a first-class All-Star event for the players and fans,'' Landes said.

''We've pretty much finalized the venues and the locations,'' he added. ''The contracts are done, and now it's the menus and brochures and items like that. And we're working on the logistics of getting 500 out-of-town guests from Point A to Point B when they have to get there.''

Despite all the focus and manpower needed to put such an event, Landes said his winter staff of between 35 and 40 people can't ignore what he calls the ''core business,'' the IronPigs' 72-game International League schedule.

''This is something unique and special, and we want to make it a first-class event,'' Landes said. ''But we don't want to lose any of the thrill and excitement for our fans over our 72-game core business.''

No changes: Landes said Coca-Cola Park won't undergo any physical changes in Year 3.

''We've talked about the area above the bullpens, where we have some space to grow and maybe do some fun things. But the All-Star Game really does eat up a lot of effort and time above and beyond what we're doing, and we didn't want to just rush in and not do things right,'' Landes said. ''But I can see us doing something in Year 4 or Year 5.''

Indy-bound: Landes said about 15 IronPigs staffers will attend next week's baseball winter meetings in Indianapolis.

''It's a reward for their hard work, but it's also the chance to learn more about our industry,'' he said.

jeff.schuler@mcall.com, 610-820-6781