What an exciting time for MLS--the playoffs are set, the overall level of play is steadily improving and of course there is the Beckham effect which will be felt even though LA missed the playoffs. So tickets should flying out the door for playoff matches...right?
Apparently that's not the quite the case in Kansas City, where the team has had to resort to the type of promotion typically seen at a minor league baseball game than a big-time sporting event (props to Steve Goff who already put his spin on this one)
"Beginning at 5:30 p.m., vendors will set up inside Arrowhead Stadium with candy and other items for trick-or-treaters courtesy of M&I Bank. Children 12 and under wearing a Halloween costume will enter the match for free with the purchase of an adult ticket and be able to participate in the trick-or-treat festivities. Participants can pick up admission vouchers and trick-or-treat bags at tables located outside Wizards box offices. Children in costumes will also be able to take part in the human tunnel on the field during pregame."
I'm not sure what's worse--having to give away tickets to fill the seats at a playoff game (not even the Arizona D-backs stooped this low when their pitiful fans didn't come out to ballpark for the NLDS/NLCS), or the "human tunnel", which sounds like something from a horror movie, and reminds me of the infamous gauntlet of Tailhook fame.
2 comments:
Hmm. I would attend dressed as a NASL player, complete with 70's-era hair and short-shorts.
And, I guess you do whatever it takes to fill a stadium. Here in D.C., the team is having a "black out"--this means all fans will be wearing black. I actually received 4 commemorative "black out" t-shirts with my ticket-package purchase. So, a bit of a marketing ploy being used here as well, only not nearly so lame.
I have no problem with marketing ploys in general, but there is a world of difference between generating fan enthusiasm and begging people to attend. I seriously doubt whether anyone attended the DC game just to get a free black t-shirt--that's a great promotion even if it was ripped off from the Miami Heat, who probably ripped it off from
Penn State's famed "white out."
In KC however its obvious that this lame marketing ploy is designed solely to boost attendance, rather than boosting team spirit and the general atmosphere as in DC (although one could argue that increased attendance in and of itself increases spirit and atmosphere...)
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