Indians pack the house

June 23, 2008
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vicfield22The Indianapolis Indians had a big weekend. The Indians won two out of three from Rochester but all three games were monetary winners for the AAA minor league baseball franchise.

Mostly blue skies along with moderate temperatures ushered in some of the season’s biggest crowds. Friday’s game drew a season record 13,509 to the team’s home field, which has 12,500 permanent seats and accommodates 14,500 including outfield lawn seating.

Saturday’s game drew 12,189 and Sunday’s game attracted 11,051. All of these numbers were registered without any kind of massive marketing hook used to bring people to Victory Field. This weekend’s attendance numbers were far above last year’s average of 8,383 per game, which was the team’s highest attendance since 2001.

Despite a softening economy—or perhaps because of it—the Indians have seen an attendance upswing in recent years. Attendance in 2007 was up 10 percent from 2006, and early season 2008 numbers were up about 6 percent over the same period the year previous. June, July and August are usually the strongest attendance periods for the Indians.

Indianapolis continues to rank sixth in the 14-team International League this year in attendance, but if weekend crowds like this last one continue to fill the stands, that rank could be going up soon.

What draws you to Victory Field?
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  • MikeJune 23, 2008 9:53 AM
    I think it is a different type of entertainment that is Cheap. My family and I are going tonight (Monday) because my cousin from Purdue wanted to come to indy to hang out for her birthday. So we are going to do a nice dinner at PF Changs. And to offset that cost we are going to walk to Victory Field for $9 tickets! You got to love the price, the venue, the variety of people that go. It's a great place to have fun and bond with the people youre with, even if you don't enjoy baseball.
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  • MattJune 23, 2008 10:21 AM
    I like Monday games because they have $1 items at the concession stand. Now that's a deal!
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  • ZappatistaJune 23, 2008 10:51 AM
    It is 'pure' entertainment. By that, I mean that it is genuine. No NBA cry babies that pout when they don't get their way on the court or in the contract room (or the IMPD questioning room, for that matter). These kids are playing their heart out doing what they love just to make it the next level. I think that this is something that Hoosiers can relate to, in it's simplest form....
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  • GeorgeOrwellJune 23, 2008 2:21 PM
    While I tend to agree that the Vic lends itself to fine, affordable, family sports viewing entertainment for the non-serious baseball fan there are a few things that are missing and oddly enough, the Indians Baseball club has little control over the matter. #1: Baseball at the triple-A level deserves a more identifiable season ending product. Instead, there's a meaningless game in Vegas or somewhere out west to determine the IL or AAA champion. It changes so much that it's become an ambiguous afterthought. #2: For better or worse, Victory Field and its fans, have taken on the personna of Chicago Cub fans. The experience at Wrigley overshadows anything on the diamond. The new 'friendly confines' minor league style; Maryland and West Streets.
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  • CharlieJune 23, 2008 3:40 PM
    The Indians are by far the best entertainment during the summer. Our kids are in the Knot Hole Club, which is a season ticket for $14. No better deal than that. The company I work for has an outing at the ballpark coming up in July. Our employees can't wait for the event. So we make it to quite a few games a year without spending much money.
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  • Erich R. H.June 23, 2008 5:23 PM
    Great view too! :)
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  • MikeJune 23, 2008 7:27 PM
    The apathy for wins and losses (as GeorgeOrwell describes) can be attributed to the fact that there are no players that the team or city can identify with and the Major League affiliation, while bringing some good talent in to play good baseball, isn't a draw to anyone. Per a previous post earlier in the year, it would be huge if the Indians could ever be associated with a team like the Reds (maybe sometime again in the future) or the Cubs (never going to happen). That would allow the Indy fan base to get excited about something other than a $1 hot dog. At least when we were affiliated with the Expos for a long time we were able to keep Razor Shines around... he was a draw every year because you knew he'd be on the team. Baseball just has become too big of a business have have a roster spot at the AAA level for a Razor Shines (or a Crash Davis). The players we have here now are basically anonymous to us. I love baseball and I couldn't tell you a single player (besides Bullington from Indy and Ball St.) that's on the roster right now.
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  • StanJune 24, 2008 8:30 AM
    Hey, $1 hot dogs are nothing to sneeze at. I do think the Indians made a big, big mistake by not maintaining its relationship with the Cincy Reds. I bet that has cost them a lot of money over the years. I think a Reds affiliation would definitely drive attendance up. That aside, I wonder if the Indians marketing department couldn't do a better job of marketing some of these players and emphasizing the players they have had that have gone on to become MLB stars. People love to go to a game with the hope of watching the next great player. I saw him when ...
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  • CharlieJune 24, 2008 12:09 PM
    In response to an earlier post about having players the city can identify with. If you look at the Pittsburgh Pirates roster it is filled with former Indians. That just goes to show we have MLB talent right here in Indy. Nate McClouth played here for a year or two and is tearing up the National League this year. He may make the All-Star team. Ian Snell threw a no-hitter in Indy and is a fourth or fifth starter on just about any team in MLB. If you can't identify with a player you should probably come to more games. Andrew McCutcheon is a top 15 prospect in all of baseball and sprints out every fly ball and ground ball. He will be a major league star someday. If you come to multiple games you will identify with him. I would much rather see these guys for one or two years than a Razor Shines or Crash Davis for 10 or 15. These are future stars, not has beens or never will be's. No disrespect to Razor, he was great for the city, but a rarity.
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  • Larry DeGarisJune 25, 2008 1:52 PM
    I go to games because I love baseball. It's a great game.
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  1. liek the rest of America

  2. These quaint,obsessed musings by the stalkers are certainly entertaining, but I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, all the yelping below has to do with Zak Brown.

  3. It's evident that Moffett was pushing the right buttons and corporate America is now trying to squash him. He just wanted to withdraw the free pilot services provided to the company by the pilots to try and put some pressure on a company that has not been interested in negotiating a contract in over 5 years. The company does not provide a contract because not having one has saved them a bundle of money. Shame on any Republic pilots not standing behind their union leader just because things are getting tough, can you not see such strategic moves by the company as putting the last union president in a corporate position and into THEIR pocket. Do you really believe the last union president is so appalled at the attempts by Moffett, do you not remember his oppositions to the company? We stood behind him. It has been proven over and over again for thousands of years without fail, a man cannot serve two masters. Anyone that believes people vote contrary to their paycheck and livelihood deserve to be taken advantage of, the recent statements by the former union president are laughable as he denounces the current union president from his new corporate position. Have you ever seen a drafted sports player score points for his previous team, it cannot be done, he is not on the pilots side anymore, he gets his money a different way now than you and I do, and he should not be allowed to remain on the seniority list. A drafted player brings strength, credibility, tactical knowledge, and a strategic advantage to his NEW team, he would not be drafted or paid were it otherwise. We are all forced to choose only one side to play for and support, not doing so has many references in life such as insider trading and shaving points, all illegal for good reason. This basic fact is why corporate moguls, scientist, and engineers all sign non-discloser agreements and non-compete clauses, as protection in case they are lured into switching sides as our former union president has done. No NFL coach ever drafted a player so that both teams could benefit and better understand each other, they are recruited to win the game against that former team, period. Likewise the company does not recruit the former union president by accident or mutual understanding, its strategy. Don't confuse playing the game with good sportsman-like conduct in support of common business and prosperity goals, with the requirement to only play for one side. Good men we all love and favor fall subject to this manipulation, often without their knowledge, and it is not a betrayal of their friendship to oppose them when they switch sides. If we did not love and trust them, they would not have been chosen and lured to the other side in the first place. The deception by the drafted player is not made at a conscious level, it's just human nature and it's all about money and power which corrupts our ability to be objective and loyal to two masters. This is why our court system created the defense attorney, and why our military created counter intelligence. Its strategy and its propaganda, and it works, and that's why the "powers to be" manipulate the chess pieces by sometimes changing their colors. Some players know they are being manipulated when their color is changed, but it brings them more money and power so they do not care. The rest have good intentions but do not even realize they are being manipulated. This tactic is also known by another name, Divide and Conquer. In battle sending an imperfect message with an imperfect team is obviously not ideal, but it's still being sent by YOUR team, your union leader, a leader that has common goals and common rewards with you, they are the best, because we have elected them to do a job for us. If you are not backing Moffett but believing the spin by those that have recently switched sides, you are taking food out of your own mouth. Showing unity and backing an imperfect situation still results in taking just as much ground, it's about unity and bargaining power. It's not necessary to wait around for that perfect attack because it will never come, the company will spin and attempt to destroy anyone that gets in their way. Ultimately it's not about any specific attack anyway, ASAP or whatever it makes no difference, it is and always has been only about power. If this company cared about safety it would not build pairings with 8 hour overnights, come on, are you that naive? Besides, do you really think Hoffa cares, no, he got a call from corporate America and was squeezed into denouncing Moffett. If he didn't they would spin the safety card against him and the Teamsters National with implication for truckers, future contracts, insurance rates etc...saying something like the Teamsters use safety as a bargaining chip, blah blah blah... Do you really think any pilot is going to do something unsafe for the contract, absolutely not, the only ones threatening safety here is the company with reduced rest, fatigue, and poverty. Do you not find it odd that Hoffa and the Teamsters are opposing a Teamster president publicly? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and work with one of their own? Why did they not sit down and help him strategize, correct any mistakes, and charge ahead? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and leverage a contract for all those pilots that have been paying Teamster dues, isn't that why we have all been paying Teamster dues in the first place? I sure haven't been paying dues so that the Teamsters National could come along and write this kind of an article undercutting our union leader and our unity. Whose side is the Teamsters National really on, it's obviously not the Republic pilots side.

  4. No matter what Moffatt does the company is going to spin it like he is the terrorist and brainwash people like you into believing it, wake up, back your players that are trying to change things for you and your livelihood. Where has Hoffa been for the last 6 years, except collecting our dues. Seriously, do you really think an FO going for upgrade, signed off by a checkairman ready for the upgrade, who then fails, is not even capable of returning as a First Officer.

  5. whoa!

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