After all was said and done, Omaha Storm Chasers paid attendance for their first season at Werner Park finished 1 percent ahead of Omaha Royals attendance last year at Rosenblatt Stadium.
So why is Storm Chasers management still busting its buttons?
"It was a remarkable year for us," said Martie Cordaro, the Storm Chasers' general manager and the Pacific Coast League's executive of the year. "But 2010 was quite a remarkable year for us, too, in that it was the closing of an icon (Rosenblatt).
"In our metrics, we compare 2011 to 2009, when things were a little more normal."
Here's the data: For 69 regular-season dates in 2011, Omaha drew 410,326 fans to Werner Park, an average of 5,947. Last year at Rosenblatt, also in 69 dates, 406,276 turned out for an average of 5,888. The 2009 totals for 68 dates were 371,046 for an average of 5,457.
Omaha's 2011 attendance was 9 percent above 2009, the last "normal" year at Rosenblatt.
Even with only a slight increase in 2011, the Storm Chasers proved possible a concept that many had difficulty visualizing — that attendance could go up even though seating capacity went down.
While Rosenblatt held roughly 24,000 in its final days, Werner Park's total capacity — including berm seating — is 9,023.
In other words, had Rosenblatt's capacity been 9,023, attendance this year would have been up 15.9 percent since there were nine crowds in 2010 larger than what's possible at Werner Park. Many of those big crowds were on promotional nights when portions of the crowd got in at deep discounts.
The bottom line is that supply and demand for the 6,434 fixed seats at Werner Park made the tickets more valuable, both for the consumer and the club.
"The value of a ticket has changed dramatically, really since 2007 and 2008, but the biggest change was from 2010 to 2011, based on sheer demand," Cordaro said. "Never as a franchise had we ever turned people away because they couldn't buy a ticket, but we did that a couple of times this year.
"And there were many other games where we didn't have any more fixed seating, and since the majority of the people in the market didn't really know what a berm (grass) seat was, many of those people didn't come on those nights. But we look at that as a positive, too, because many of those same folks ended up buying more tickets, even season tickets, in advance."
Omaha had 16 crowds of 8,000 or more, including two sellouts, in 2011. A rainout on opening night cost the club another sellout, Cordaro said, and a colder-than-normal April — average game-time temperatures were 12 degrees cooler than April 2010 — kept fans from completely warming up to the new park until May.
What's good for business was good for baseball, too.
Not only did the universally praised Kansas City Royals farm system provide Omaha with one of its most talented rosters in the past two decades, the new energy at the park — on average 93.5 percent of the fixed seats were filled (with the stadium at 65 percent capacity), compared to an average of 25.4 percent at Rosenblatt in 2010 — was credited by players and coaches for giving the team a lift.
There was more to the first season at Werner Park than just the family fun zone — complete with carousel — the in-stadium bars, the basketball court and whiffleball field, and the luxury suites and party decks.
The Chasers gave Omaha its first playoff team since 1999 and its first championship since 1990.
"The atmosphere of the stadium does have something to do with the game on the field," Cordaro said. "At least a dozen times (Omaha manager) Mike Jirschele mentioned to me how much more fun it was for the players and coaches to come to the ballpark.
"And with a comfortable new clubhouse, guys weren't getting to the ballpark one minute before report time. They were coming in early, hanging out and enjoying one another's company, and that made them more close-knit as a team, and that helped them perform to the best of their abilities."
Four playoff games drew another 15,416, an average of 3,854. It debunked the theory that minor league attendance is automatically related to winning. Omaha's playoff attendance, compared to the regular season, was down 35.1 percent. But, among other PCL teams, Round Rock's was down 28 percent and Reno's 1.4 percent. Sacramento's postseason attendance was up 13.2 percent.
Omaha's postseason turnout was negatively affected by a Saturday afternoon game that started only 14 hours after it was assured there would even be a game. But just like a vibrant crowd the night before that Cordaro called the "most electric" he'd seen in 13 years as a minor league employee, the small Saturday crowd of 2,130 was as loud as any that had come out all season.
When it was over — following a game-ending homer by Kila Ka'aihue in the 11th inning that wrapped up the first-round series — and after Jirschele had thanked the crowd for its support, the Chasers gave everyone at the game the opportunity to get free box seats for either Game 1 or Game 2 of the PCL Championship Series.
"After the excitement during the playoffs, I think you can say that Omaha is now a Triple-A town and a minor league town," Cordaro said. "I don't think you could say that five years ago. But we think it is, and we're quite proud of that."
Omaha's attendance peaked in 1997, with an average of 6,814 that was padded by discounted seats. As discounts were reigned in and interest faded the next eight years, attendance plummeted to 4,278 in 2005. The 2011 season marked the sixth straight increase in attendance and the largest per-date average since 2000.
Cordaro said there's still room to grow, and making up for an unseasonable April is one place to start.
"We haven't set our goals yet for next season, but we will soon," he said. "We lost a crowd of 9,000 on opening night and we were down 20 to 30 percent a night in April from what we'd projected. Considering that, we're still pleased to have the numbers we had, but long term, we have an opportunity to grow our group sales and season-ticket sales. We've been working on 2012 since early August, and we're excited about the offseason."
Cordaro would like to land All-Star Game
Cordaro said the Storm Chasers are hopeful of bringing the Class AAA All-Star Game to Werner Park sometime in the near future.
"We haven't done a formal bid process, but we're at the beginning stages of seeing what it would take," he said. "It is our hope and anticipation that within the next five to seven years we would be awarded the All-Star Game."
The Class AAA All-Star Game, played the day after the major league All-Star Game, pits the top players from the PCL and International Leagues.
Cordaro said he's less interested in pursuing the Triple A National Championship game, which has been held in Oklahoma City but was played last week in Albuquerque, N.M.
Omaha lost that game to International League champion Columbus.
"I wouldn't rule that one out, but it's more of a stretch," he said.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1027, rob.white@owh.com
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