Dayton Dragons tidbits

From the DDN:

Awards now come annually for the franchise, which begins its seventh season April 6. The latest was bestowed by The Sporting News, which named (Bob) Murphy (President of the Dragons) the minor league executive of the year for 2005.

Remember, this is a team that has finished last 3 years in a row.

The sellouts streak — counting playoff games, the 2001 Midwest League All-Star Game and games transferred from other cities undergoing stadium rehab — stands at 427 straight games.

Again, remember, this is a team that has finished last 3 years in a row.

In every previous year of operation, the Dragons have not only led the Midwest League in attendance, but Class A baseball. It also is the only Class A franchise to have finished in minor-league baseball’s top 10 attendance leaders every single year of its existence, a lone Class A among the Class AAA and Class AA teams in bigger cities.

I think this is pretty amazing and a tribute to the atmosphere that there is at 5th 3rd Field. As the article states, the Dragons have no control over the on-field product, that’s all controlled by the Reds, but they sure work to make sure you have a wonderful time at their facility.

And they care about the fans…

“We still believe we’re offering a great product at a great price,” said Murphy, scoffing at the idea that ticket prices are too high, about $11 a seat if individual tickets were available, which mostly they aren’t because of a high volume of season-ticket holders. “The greatest testimony is we have a 90-percent renewal rate.”
That’s not all. Murphy and his staff painstakingly track empty seats, calling ticket holders to find out why they didn’t attend certain games. The Dragons do not release actual in-house fan totals, but with poor teams, plenty of seats go unused.
“We always want to see people in the seats,” Murphy said. “If we find someone has a 70- or 35-game plan and isn’t using all the tickets, we suggest they get a 17-game plan. Lots of people convert 70-game plans for 35-game plans. We monitor the accounts. We sit down and coach people on how to use their tickets.”

If you ever get the chance to catch the Dragons, don’t miss the opportunity. The way they treat their fans will make you wish the Reds front office was as sharp about dealing with their fans.