MLB team makes big decision on letting kids into the park
If you’re the owner of a major league team and you want to see more kids at your games, what’s the easiest way to achieve your goal?
The Baltimore Orioles think they’ve found the simplest method: free tickets.
The team announced its “Kids Cheer Free” initiative Monday that will allow parents to bring children age 9 and younger to Camden Yards for free this season.
The tickets, which will be made available on a month-by-month basis, permit every adult who purchases a regularly priced upper deck ticket to bring up to two children (age 9 and younger) to the ballpark free of charge.
Just Announced: @Orioles introduce "Kids Cheer Free" initiative, which allows families to bring children nine and under to O's games free of charge! Details: https://t.co/O3bDThv3Rn #IBackTheBirds pic.twitter.com/4GeZLY4a1i
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) March 12, 2018
“The Orioles’ mission, and that of the national game of baseball, is to cast a broad community outreach, and that effort starts with thoughtfully expanding our initiatives benefiting kids and families,” Orioles executive vice president John Angelos said in a statement.
“In the United States today, baseball now attracts more than 110 million Americans each year to Major and Minor League Baseball games, before accounting for the many millions of Americans who cheer for their college, scholastic and youth baseball programs,” Angelos added. “The Orioles are committed to sustaining the access for families from all walks of life to our great game, and that commitment is reflected in the Kids Cheer Free initiative and our many other family-focused programs.”
Baltimore Orioles will be offering free admission to Camden Yards to any fan 9 and under this season, a fascinating new effort to attract younger fans. Will be interesting to see if any teams follow. Via @EricFisherSBJ https://t.co/2nyIn8Vz5x
— Ian Thomas (@byIanThomas) March 12, 2018
Getting kids more involved with baseball has been a top priority for MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred since he took over the job three years ago.
At the time, baseball participation rates for youngsters between the ages of 7 and 17 had dropped by 41 percent from 2002 to 2013.
In 2015, MLB launched its Play Ball program to encourage kids to play baseball and softball. The league became active in building and maintaining fields, providing equipment and training coaches.
So MLB not only wants to get kids into its games, it also wants to get more kids playing baseball — and not just the video game version.
All MLB teams have tried to provide options for young fans at games in recent years. Every stadium has a kids play zone, most teams offer kids the chance to run the bases after games on weekends, and a lot of teams offer discounted prices on certain concession items such as hot dogs, popcorn and soft drinks.
The league also wants to get those kids interested in watching baseball on TV. Statistics suggest that might be a bigger hurdle to overcome.
A Sports Business Journal article from last year reported the median age of MLB fans in 2016 was 57. For the NFL it was 50, NHL 49 and NBA 42.
https://twitter.com/SaraG7409/status/973196645155397632
MLB announced a handful of rule changes last month designed to speed up the pace of play of its games, another effort the sport is making to be more appealing to younger fans.
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