A new slogan, an addition to the seating capacity and new ticket plans are just a few of the items revealed at the press conference held by the Altoona Curve baseball team on Wednesday.
“It is a coincidence,” said Greenberg, who is the managing partner in the ownership group that also includes Pittsburgh sports stars Mario Lemieux and Jerome Bettis as minor partners, “that we have this press conference today, because it is actually a year tomorrow that we signed the first agreement of ownership. It’s been quite a year. Since we took over so late, we were behind in season ticket sales, with the uncertainty going around, we had a very unfavorable schedule with 31 home dates in April and May before the kids were out of school. We had 11 week night dates in April. April and May were also very cold and very wet. The average daily temperature was 15 degrees colder than the year before. But from there everything just went great. Our attendance got stronger and stronger as the year went on. We set a crowd record on July 4, and did better than that with the culmination of 8,452 fans on August 10. We averaged over the last two months of the season, over 6,200 per game, over the last three weeks of the season, we averaged over 6,800. That says great things about this community and the fans. We got our renewal of the affiliation with the Pirates and have an outstanding relationship with Pittsburgh organization.”
A new Curve fifth anniversary logo was unveiled paying attention to the 2003 season being the fifth year for the franchise (shown here).
“We couldn’t wait until the season was over to start implementing some ideas we have been kicking around to make the franchise better,” said Greenberg. “This franchise has been exceptionally well run by the previous owners from Day One but it is also necessary if a franchise is to grow, to have to adapt. We did an awful lot of listening and observing. Hearing people and seeing how we could take this franchise to the next level.”
A new slogan was also announced that coincides with the team’s new idea for the area. “Everybody’s hometown team,” “If you are from Altoona, we are your hometown team,” explained Curve General manager Todd Parnell. “If you are from State College, we are you hometown team. If you live in Bedford, we are you hometown team. We barnstormed for several days to come up with a slogan about how we feel about our fans.”
Assistant General Manager Rick Janic talked about the marketing philosophy for the coming year explaining that the attendance over the first three years had shown how the existing philosophy had works for Altoona. “We think that our market lies outside Altoona as well,” stated Janic. “We are considered the smallest market area in minor league baseball, but we don’t think that way. We think a market area is only as large or small as you say it is. So we say we have the largest market area. That is kind of where, ‘Everybody’s hometown team came from.’ We plan to move in and do some special things in Indiana, State College, Johnstown, Bedford, Somerset, Pittsburgh. These are all areas we consider our market. We are going to be doing a lot of creative things to get people and businesses involved.”
As revealed earlier in the day to several media outlets, the big physical news is that the Curve will build an addition to Blair County Ballpark that will push the seating capacity from the current 6, 176 to over 7,200 and total capacity (including general admission and standing) to over 9,700.
A new outfield reserved section that will accommodate 800 fans will be located just beyond the left-field wall extending from the foul pole to left-center field. To create space and enhance the fan experience the second or outer fence beyond the stones, will be brought in 10 feet and the wall itself will be shortened about three feet to allow outfielders to reach into the stands to save home runs.
A picnic area also will be added on the third base side of the field which will seat about 230 people. The picnic area will have its own private barbecue and beverage stand. Fans can watch the entire game from their picnic table.
Also the Curve is creating a new Party Deck located in the left corner of the ballpark, between the new picnic area and new reserved seat section in left field. This will feature an al-new bar and grille stand that can be accessed by any fan in the ballpark. In addition, the Party Deck will include a single row of seating known as the “Rail Kings,” which can be purchased by fans on a nightly basis and features cable television and waiter/waitress service.
Ticket prices will increase in 2003. Most tickets will increase an average of 50 cents (200 and 300 level seats) to a maximum of 75 cents for Diamond Club (100 level). For more information about Curve tickets the Curve has added a new toll-free number 1-877-99-CURVE, in addition to the old 943-5400. Among the new ticket choices is a 16-game selection that will be referred to as the “Hyzdu Plan” in honor of Curve favorite and present Pittsburgh Pirate Adam Hyzdu, whose Number 16 has been retired by the Altoona franchise.
“We know people understand our prices can’t remain the same forever,” said Greenberg. “We’ve got to keep it affordable and we’ve got to deliver value. We know costs have gone up and will continue. We want to do right by our fans.”
A Curve booster club will be established, the video board (scoreboard) will be upgraded with state-of-the-art software so it can play video clips with improved audiovisual capabilities. Every fan at every game will receive a free program at every game with statistics and team information. Vendors will be walking through the stands selling items.
