MrCleveland
01-26-2011, 08:24 AM
Indians consider Snow Days a success
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- The Indians considered their Snow Days event a risk worth taking. It was a one-of-a-kind experience, transforming what would have been a dormant Progressive Field into a winter wonderland.
From the 10-lane tubing hill that began high in the bleachers and ended in shallow right field to the quarter-mile ice skating track that stretched around the ballpark, Snow Days provided a unique offseason experience. On Monday, the Tribe announced that the event drew more than 50,000 people.
"Indians Snow Days was created to give our fans and everyone in our community an opportunity to spend time with family, create memories and connect with the Cleveland Indians and Progressive Field in a new, exciting and fun way," Indians president Mark Shapiro said in a press release.
"By those measures, Indians Snow Days was a success for us and the Cleveland community. We created additional event dates which drove visitors to downtown Cleveland to create a new holiday tradition at Progressive Field."
While the event, which began on Nov. 26 and ended on Sunday, drew what appears to be a solid number of visitors, the Indians are hoping for larger draws in the future. This first year served somewhat as an experiment in an effort to find a way to utilize the stadium in the winter and as a way to hopefully create more revenue for the team.
In its first year, Snow Days will likely result in a financial loss for the Indians, but that was expected. Such a result is often the case when undertaking a new project of considerable size. Now that the first Snow Days is in the books, the Indians plan on going to work on finding ways to make it even better in the future.
One thing is for certain, Snow Days caught the attention of other teams. A handful of other Major League Baseball clubs asked if they could send people to get a first-hand look at Snow Days. Teams from other sports inquired as well. That is a sign that the Indians found an attractive event for their stadium's offseason.
Besides The Batterhorn tubing hill and the Frozen Mile skating track, Snow Days also featured a smaller ice rink, a snow maze and areas for playing in the snow (both natural and generated on site). The event also gave fans the chance to step on the ballfield and warm up in Cleveland's home dugout.
All things considered, the Indians believe Snow Days was a success.
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- The Indians considered their Snow Days event a risk worth taking. It was a one-of-a-kind experience, transforming what would have been a dormant Progressive Field into a winter wonderland.
From the 10-lane tubing hill that began high in the bleachers and ended in shallow right field to the quarter-mile ice skating track that stretched around the ballpark, Snow Days provided a unique offseason experience. On Monday, the Tribe announced that the event drew more than 50,000 people.
"Indians Snow Days was created to give our fans and everyone in our community an opportunity to spend time with family, create memories and connect with the Cleveland Indians and Progressive Field in a new, exciting and fun way," Indians president Mark Shapiro said in a press release.
"By those measures, Indians Snow Days was a success for us and the Cleveland community. We created additional event dates which drove visitors to downtown Cleveland to create a new holiday tradition at Progressive Field."
While the event, which began on Nov. 26 and ended on Sunday, drew what appears to be a solid number of visitors, the Indians are hoping for larger draws in the future. This first year served somewhat as an experiment in an effort to find a way to utilize the stadium in the winter and as a way to hopefully create more revenue for the team.
In its first year, Snow Days will likely result in a financial loss for the Indians, but that was expected. Such a result is often the case when undertaking a new project of considerable size. Now that the first Snow Days is in the books, the Indians plan on going to work on finding ways to make it even better in the future.
One thing is for certain, Snow Days caught the attention of other teams. A handful of other Major League Baseball clubs asked if they could send people to get a first-hand look at Snow Days. Teams from other sports inquired as well. That is a sign that the Indians found an attractive event for their stadium's offseason.
Besides The Batterhorn tubing hill and the Frozen Mile skating track, Snow Days also featured a smaller ice rink, a snow maze and areas for playing in the snow (both natural and generated on site). The event also gave fans the chance to step on the ballfield and warm up in Cleveland's home dugout.
All things considered, the Indians believe Snow Days was a success.