Play On The Grass

When the novelty of grass wears off, will baseball fans still fill the seats?

April 14th, 2008 - Alliance Bank Stadium - Syracuse, NY

Matthew Schultz - NCC News

There's Grass

A new sound can now be heard at Alliance Bank Stadium; that of a lawnmower! Many baseball fans in Syracuse, frustrated for years by the deteriorating astroturf field at Alliance Bank Stadium, will no doubt make a point of seeing an early season game on the new grass field. According to outfielder Russ Adams, "It's exciting, hopefully it's exciting for the fans, too, to come out and see a game. You know, it's more appealing to the eye to see the game of baseball played on natural grass". But once you've seen the grass, what is the reasoning for a return visit? The Chiefs marketing strategy for the year relies almost solely on the grass - including grass-themed slogans and memorabilia.

What gets fans to the games?

According to Chiefs General Manager John Simone, good weather and a winning team are really the only ways to get more fans out to the stadium. That's a problem here in Syracuse, where the Chiefs have had only 8 winning seasons in the last 31 years and where mother nature does not often favor outdoor activities. With the smallest population of any city with a triple-A baseball team, Syracuse needs to do even more to convince fans to come out to the ballpark, and their marketing and promotion efforts are often not enough. "We need new blood at the top," says Chirs Fikes. "Some new ideas, fresh ideas. When I came here with my dad, back in the 60's, when I was a young teenager, same guys basically." If they need ideas for promotions, their fans certainly have plenty. We heard ideas ranging from guest announcers to better food. Just one new concept might be able to make a huge difference.

Winning Sells Seats...Will grass help the Chiefs Win?

"Just playing on a smoother surface, a nicer surface, and something that's a lot easier on your knees and your back, and everything else, is only going to help us," said Russ Adams. Pitcher Jordan DeJong echoed the sentiments of many others in the organization that Alliance Bank Stadium is now going to be a very pitcher-friendly ballpark, as the left field wall has been moved back to make home runs to that part of the stadium a little harder to come by. Russ Adams also reminded us that, despite being a pitcher's park in terms of home runs, the grass may help to slow the ball down when it is hit to the outfield, which may allow the Chiefs to score more runs in situations where they may not have had time to get all the way to home plate in the past. In any case, the grass will cut down on injuries, and reduce the home field DISadvantage that the Chiefs used to face, as they had to play 70+ games each year on what amounted to carpeted concrete.