Bandits Rake In Three More Awards
Published on February 9, 2010 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release
Team honored for Best One-Night Promotion, Ballpark Improvement and Marketing Campaign by Ballpark Digest
For the second consecutive season, the team has been named the winner of three different Ballpark Digest Awards. This year, the recognition comes in the categories of Best One-Night Promotion (Mega-Candy Drop), Best Ballpark Improvement (Loge Boxes) and Best Marketing Campaign. The highly regarded publication, published by August Publications and Kevin Reichard, also touted Vice President and General Manager Kirk Goodman as a finalist for Executive of the Year.
For the second consecutive season, the team has been named the winner of three different Ballpark Digest Awards. This year, the recognition comes in the categories of Best One-Night Promotion (Mega-Candy Drop), Best Ballpark Improvement (Loge Boxes) and Best Marketing Campaign. The highly regarded publication, published by August Publications and Kevin Reichard, also touted Vice President and General Manager Kirk Goodman as a finalist for Executive of the Year.
"Once again, we are honored to have the River Bandits name all over the post-season awards handed out by Ballpark Digest,"Â said River Bandits owner Dave Heller. "The Mega-Candy Drop was a truly unique and successful promotion, the Loge Boxes were extremely popular with our fans and our marketing campaigns were also very well received. We appreciate Kevin and the guys at Ballpark Digest taking note and honoring us for working hard and always looking for new ways to please our fans.-Â
"Once again, we are honored to have the River Bandits name all over the post-season awards handed out by Ballpark Digest,"Â said River Bandits owner Dave Heller. "The Mega-Candy Drop was a truly unique and successful promotion, the Loge Boxes were extremely popular with our fans and our marketing campaigns were also very well received. We appreciate Kevin and the guys at Ballpark Digest taking note and honoring us for working hard and always looking for new ways to please our fans.-Â
The Mega-Candy Drop was a first-of-its-kind promotion that effectively boosted attendance and provided great family entertainment following a July 26 win against the Great Lakes Loons. After the game, nearly 1,000 excited kids were brought onto the infield and divided by age. As the youngsters anxiously waited, pilot Jay Brent of Rotor View Helicopters circled over Modern Woodmen Park and dropped more than 100 pounds of candy onto the outfield. The children were then released within their respective areas to scoop up as much candy as they could hold. But the fun was not over. As they happily collected their bounty, the helicopter did another series of passes to drop 100 pounds of small marshmallows " literally raining puffy white goodness over the candy-crazed kids.
The Mega-Candy Drop was a first-of-its-kind promotion that effectively boosted attendance and provided great family entertainment following a July 26 win against the Great Lakes Loons. After the game, nearly 1,000 excited kids were brought onto the infield and divided by age. As the youngsters anxiously waited, pilot Jay Brent of Rotor View Helicopters circled over Modern Woodmen Park and dropped more than 100 pounds of candy onto the outfield. The children were then released within their respective areas to scoop up as much candy as they could hold. But the fun was not over. As they happily collected their bounty, the helicopter did another series of passes to drop 100 pounds of small marshmallows " literally raining puffy white goodness over the candy-crazed kids.
The Loge Boxes also became an instant success upon their construction early in the season, providing smaller groups an opportunity to enjoy all the amenities of a picnic at Modern Woodmen Park in a more suitable space. While the Party Plaza is perfect for large groups of up to 400 and the Sky Deck offers an upscale option for groups of up to 200, the Loge Boxes offer a variety of delicious buffet menus for groups of 10-60 people. Located in the lower seating bowl down the left field line, each of the four Loge Boxes holds 10-15 people and can be joined together as necessary.
The Loge Boxes also became an instant success upon their construction early in the season, providing smaller groups an opportunity to enjoy all the amenities of a picnic at Modern Woodmen Park in a more suitable space. While the Party Plaza is perfect for large groups of up to 400 and the Sky Deck offers an upscale option for groups of up to 200, the Loge Boxes offer a variety of delicious buffet menus for groups of 10-60 people. Located in the lower seating bowl down the left field line, each of the four Loge Boxes holds 10-15 people and can be joined together as necessary.
While the addition of the Loge Boxes helped spur group sales, the River Bandits' season-long marketing campaign kept River Bandits baseball in the forefront of the Quad Cities community all summer long. From the "Miss You-Â spot in early April to a spot featuring Rascal winning a mascot award in August, the radio commercials were attention-getting and fun to listen to while touting the team's upcoming promotions. The campaign helped the River Bandits increase total attendance by 14 percent in 2009, surpassing 236,000 total fans for the first time since 1995. The River Bandits shared the award for Best Marketing Campaign with the Fort Wayne TinCaps, who enjoyed a significant increase in attendance after rebranding the team and moving into a new ballpark.
While the addition of the Loge Boxes helped spur group sales, the River Bandits' season-long marketing campaign kept River Bandits baseball in the forefront of the Quad Cities community all summer long. From the "Miss You-Â spot in early April to a spot featuring Rascal winning a mascot award in August, the radio commercials were attention-getting and fun to listen to while touting the team's upcoming promotions. The campaign helped the River Bandits increase total attendance by 14 percent in 2009, surpassing 236,000 total fans for the first time since 1995. The River Bandits shared the award for Best Marketing Campaign with the Fort Wayne TinCaps, who enjoyed a significant increase in attendance after rebranding the team and moving into a new ballpark.
"With their commitment to the ultimate fan experience and continual improvements to Modern Woodmen Park, the Quad Cities River Bandits have become one of the leading franchises in all of baseball,"Â said Kevin Reichard, publisher of BallparkDigest.com. "It's always a great time at a River Bandits game, and I can't wait to see what the team has in store for 2010.-Â
"With their commitment to the ultimate fan experience and continual improvements to Modern Woodmen Park, the Quad Cities River Bandits have become one of the leading franchises in all of baseball,"Â said Kevin Reichard, publisher of BallparkDigest.com. "It's always a great time at a River Bandits game, and I can't wait to see what the team has in store for 2010.-Â
www.RiverBandits.com
Class-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals
Vice President and General Manager Kirk Goodman also received recognition as a finalist for Executive of the Year, which ultimately went to Rick Brenner, President of the brand new Bowling Green Hot Rods and the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Chief among Goodman's achievements are his successful leadership of the River Bandits and his engineering of a 64 percent increase in per-game attendance in just two seasons since taking over the team's day-to-day management prior to the 2008 campaign.
The lofty accolades from Ballpark Digest are the latest in a series of awards and honors received by the River Bandits since the end of the 2009 baseball season. The club was given the Quad-City Times Reader's Choice Award for Best Family Entertainment as well as a Veeckie Award from ESPN: The Magazine recognizing the popular Tattoo Night promotion. Assistant General Manager Stefanie Brown earned an individual award after being named the Midwest League's Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year. The Mega-Candy Drop ultimately ranked fourth in MinorLeagueBaseball.com's post- season promotional awards, while the Van Down by the River was named a finalist at the Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar's annual awards.
"The 2009 season was another fun one at Modern Woodmen Park and it is always a source of pride when others recognize our hard work and success,"Â said Goodman. "We plan on making sure that post-season awards become a habit, and we're already working hard to prepare the 2010 season to have even more family fun, entertainment, and surprises for everybody that passes through the front gates at Modern Woodmen Park.-Â
UP NEXT: Modern Woodmen Park is staying busy as a special events venue over the off-season, providing the perfect atmosphere for winter parties, corporate functions and more. Meanwhile, the 2010 baseball schedule has been released and fans can already put down a deposit on season ticket and mini-plan packages " including the brand new Super Seven Plan " right now by calling (563) 3-BANDIT.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: The Quad Cities River Bandits set a new post-renovation mark for single-season attendance in 2009, as 236,401 fans passed through the turnstiles for an average of 3,694 fans per game. Both figures marked the highest since 1995, while the average attendance was the third highest in franchise history and the total attendance was the fifth highest all-time. The total attendance was up 14 percent over the 2008 season, continuing a 59 percent attendance increase since Main St. Iowa purchased the franchise following the 2007 season. Ticket sales, concessions, merchandise sales, sponsorships and even Kids' Zone revenues were all up over 2008, which was one of the team's best in history. Season ticket deposits for 2010 are already being taken!
Midwest League Stories from February 9, 2010
- Bandits Rake In Three More Awards - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Concessions Menu Ideas Whittled Down To Top 10 - West Michigan Whitecaps
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