Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Highlights, Lowlights, Lessons Learned


Admittedly, this is old news, but the photos recently arrived from the Minor League Baseball office. These are from the awards banquet at the opening night of the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego last month. The Bulls were honored as the top franchise in MiLB


Two legends: Announcer Dick Enberg interviews 
retiring MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.


Bulls General Manager, Mike Birling, accepts the award.


Our management team basks in the glow of the big evening: 
Bryan Wilson, retail; Peter Wallace, ticket dept; Scott Carter, mktg; 
Your Blogger; Birling; Mitch Lukevics, Tampa Bay Rays; 
Chip Allen, sponsorship; Brian Simorka, group sales.

~  ~  ~  ~

It goes without saying this was a great way to end a crazy, high-stress year that boasts the $25 million DBAP renovation, hosting the Triple-A All-Star Game and an attendance record. 

I used “boast” in the previous paragraph to make a point…about humility. There was a lesson to be learned in the aftermath of Opening Day last year. While it was a miracle that we opened on time after severe construction delays, it was a night of embarrassingly rough edges. GM Mike Birling took the initiative to send a letter to every ticket buyer offering a do-over, and soon thereafter he installed a new customer service program. 


The City of Durham and Capitol Broadcasting Company have made a tremendous investment in the ballpark’s future…and we are pretty darned good at marketing and promotion…but we are nothing without fan support, without satisfied customers. And that’s more than a financial issue. Your patronage of our ball club is important to the Tampa Bay Rays (700 miles away), the team on the field and our community’s reputation. We will never take that for granted.