By Cole Epley
Yogi Berra once said, “In baseball, you don’t know nothing.”
Nowadays, the adage reads more like this: “In baseball, if you don’t know business, you don’t know nothing.”
Just ask Ben Weiss, general manager of the Memphis Redbirds. Instead of concerning himself with the pitching rotation or a cleanup hitter in a slump, he’s more focused on filling empty seats and ensuring that fans continue to come back night after night.
“The fan experience is the majority of what we deal with from the front office,” the Allentown, Penn. native says.
While this may seem unusual to baseball fans, it’s a day-to-day reality in the front office of any minor league baseball club, where the foremost priority is player development for Major League parent organizations.
The Redbirds are in a doubly challenging position, however. They face a ten-year trend of declining attendance as well as a cloud of enduring financial problems stemming from the organization’s inception. AutoZone Park, known in some circles as the “Taj Mahal” of Minor League baseball, was constructed in 2000 at Third Street and Union Avenue—with an $80 million price tag.
Managing the team’s finances is the Memphis Redbirds Organization, which has very little to do with what happens on the field. The organization provides entertainment and, more importantly, a venue within which to play games, but everything else that happens on the field, including the umpires, is provided by Major League Baseball.
“The players and coaches put on the game and we as an organization have very little to do with that,” says John Pontius, treasurer of the Memphis Redbirds Foundation, which owns the team and its distinguished venue, AutoZone Park.
“The Redbirds Foundation incurred a tremendous amount of debt to build the ballpark in 2000,” Pontius points out, “and ever since, the Foundation has struggled to meet the debt service obligations.”
He says that this problem was compounded in part by the numerous bondholders of the principal debt of $72 million, which was sold to private equity firm Fundamental Advisors at 38 cents on the dollar in October. Complicating things even further, attendance figures have dropped significantly since the team was established—declining by as many as 97,000 to no fewer than 4,000 seats between any two of the last ten seasons.
“Dean Jernigan [a principal investor in AutoZone Park’s construction] was gracious enough to obligate himself to fill the gaps, and he did so for a number of years,” Pontius says.
Jernigan’s obligation included guaranteeing coverage of losses from his personal finances, but “at a certain point,” Pontius says, “he had to stop funding the organization’s shortfalls.”
Shortly after came a default on payments on behalf of the organization and the inevitable restructuring of debt.
With the debt of the organization now resting in the hands of a single bondholder, however, the price of the debt is now closer to what the team can support—a reality in stark contrast to the situation prior to the bond purchase.
It’s a reality that, in Pontius’ words, “changes the whole mindset” of the organization.
Putting aside the drama of the behind-the-scenes ownership debt is anticipated to have positive impact on the organization and its ability to better serve its patrons. For example, Weiss cites an increase in marketing dollars in 2011 that enables the front office to offer more in-game entertainment for the target family market.
Coming attractions at AutoZone Park in 2011 include the world-famous San Diego Chicken and the Zooperstars, who have performed at scores of NBA halftime shows, as well as a dozen fireworks nights.
“Fireworks nights are a cornerstone of what we do in the Memphis market,” Weiss says.
Aside from in-game theatrics, the Redbirds pride themselves on their luxurious Downtown accommodations. In fact, Baseball America voters in 2009 selected AutoZone Park as the best minor league ballpark in the nation. And although downtown-area stadiums have been trending at the Major League level, the Redbirds remain ahead of the curve with their unique location in the heart of Downtown.
That advantage also poses a unique challenge to the organization, however.
“Getting families to drive 15-20 minutes from out east to Downtown, on top of finding a place to park is a marketing focus for us,” Weiss says.
Another part of the focus involves communicating the ease of not only getting Downtown, but also maneuvering, parking and addressing safety issues.
Commenting on the advantages of having a single bondholder, Weiss anticipates more effective communication and a more productive work environment. Being in such a position, he says, puts the organization in the driver’s seat to have one of the best years in recent memory.
Pontius, too, remains optimistic about the organization.
“I believe that 2011 will be a breakout year in terms of our operations—sales, attendance, customer satisfaction,” he says. The Foundation is offered an opportunity to better manage the organization, he notes.
The Redbirds open the 2011 season on April 7 with a home series against Oklahoma City, a team the Redbirds defeated in the Pacific Coast League Championship in 2009. Memphis returned to the Championship series again in 2010, but was swept by the Tacoma Rainiers.
“The bottom line for me is that I believe baseball in Memphis, as a triple A affiliate of St. Louis, will continue to be played in AutoZone Park for a long time,” he says, “which is what the citizens of Memphis want and deserve.”
For Redbirds schedule information, tickets and real-time updates, visit www.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t235
For history and in-depth information about AutoZone Park, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoZone_Park
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