The 2011 Boston Red Sox season has not exactly started with a bang. Actually, it started with a stumble and has progressed into a head-first dive. The Red Sox have been struggling to sell tickets early in 2011, putting their sell-out streak at risk, especially if the team doesn’t start performing on the field. In the event that things continue to spiral out of control, I thought I would help the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) out and give them some alternate ideas to generate revenue. So here they are, 5 high-quality revenue ideas to spice-up an under-achieving team. Free business and financial advice from someone with no formal business or financial experience. What more can you ask for? Your welcome, FSG.
-Show new-release movies on the new HD centerfield scoreboard, charging $20 for admission. If movie theaters can get away with charging $11 to see a new-release movie inside a small theater, imagine the potential at Fenway. Instead of a few hundred people, Fenway could bring in several thousand, with even more sitting on the field. The park is already designed to over-charge for concessions and we know people will pay for the unique experience, so why not?
-Turn the bar in the right field roof deck back into a bowling alley. For those who don’t know, the bar top in the right field roof deck was made from the wood that used to be the bowling alley lanes housed under the left-field grandstand. That was a nice idea, but now that times are tough, re-creating a lane or two in the right field roof deck is a brilliant money-generating idea. During games that get out of hand, fans could pay to bowl and take their mind off the game and on off-days, that area could be opened-up to the public. What better than bowling a strike while the Red Sox play a few hundred feet away?
-Concession stands will allow customers to keep the caps to their bottles for 50 cents each, as long as they promise to only throw them when the opposing players are on the field. This is a no-brainer. The caps get thrown out anyway and wouldn’t the game be more entertaining if Alex Rodriguez had to dodge bottle caps in order to field a ground-ball at 3rd base? The caps are plastic, so the damage they would do is minimal, just enough to entertain us all. It brings the meaning of home-field advantage to a new level.
-Every time you need to use the restroom at Fenway, it should cost you 25 cents. Just imagine the income potential with that deal. The average fan probably drinks at least 2 beers and has to pee at least 2 to 3 times a game. If you figure 30,000 people pee 2 times a game, that’s $15,000 in revenue a game. Then if the game goes into extra innings, the revenue only continues to climb. With 81 home games a season, the Red Sox would make at least $1,215,000 a year without having to do anything but install a change machine near each restroom.
-Fans can pay $100,000 to be a DH for the day and get to actually hit in the Red Sox lineup. If the season is out of control, why not let fans hit? Make fans sign a waiver and let them sit in the dugout and take a few rips against some major-league level competition. Honestly, they may hit better than some members of the Red Sox roster at this point. If one fan DH’s every home game, the Sox will make about $10 million over the course of the season. Sure, they have to invest in uniform creation, but it’s a small overhead cost. Start applying now, because the spots will fill up fast.
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