Adam Franklin’s Post

America's pastime introduced new rules this season. But that's not the only thing shaking up #baseball. This year marks the first that the #MLB has allowed sponsor patches on team jerseys, joining three other professional sports leagues in the U.S. But baseball could be the sport that provides the most monetary value for #brands, from sheer exposure alone. Even if the changes to the sport are speeding up the average time of games, they've also led to renewed interest in baseball. The trade-offs could be worth it for sponsors. Read the full story below, with lots of great data and insight on the impacts of the rule changes, the value for brands, and more.

Major League Baseball (MLB) isn't the only game in town ⚾ Today we're looking at the Pioneer Baseball League, established in 1939! ℹ League Info Within the baseball hierarchy in America, there are 14 official minor leagues directly affiliated with the MLB. Until 2020, the Pioneer League was an affiliated league, operating within the Rookie category. It is now considered an independent, alongside the American Association of Professional Baseball, the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and the Frontier League. 🗺 Geography Based in the Rocky Mountains, encompassing teams from #Colorado, #Montana, #Idaho and #Utah (former teams from Wyoming and Canada have featured). Largest population base is #ColoradoSprings (484,000), smallest is #Kalispell (35,000). 👬 Teams Teams play 96 games from May to September. There are currently 10 teams: Billings Mustangs Boise Hawks Professional Baseball Club Glacier Range Riders Grand Junction Jackalopes Great Falls Voyagers Idaho Falls Chukars Professional Baseball Missoula Paddleheads Northern Colorado Owlz Ogden Raptors Baseball Rocky Mountain Vibes Billings Mustangs is most successful, with 15 championships. The 2022 winner was Grand Junction. 📣 Fanbase 2022 set a record attendance figure of 925k, almost 100k more than 2021. Ogden had the highest at 167k, while Great Falls had the lowest at 64k. Rocky Mountains Vibes has the highest number of FB fans at 40k. Stadiums range in capacity from 2,500 (Range Riders and Voyagers) to 8,500 (Rocky Mountains Vibes). 👨💼 Corporate Operates under the leadership of President Michael Shapiro, Commissioner Henry Hunter, Director of Marketing Tate Jordan & Director of Baseball Admin Mathias Altman-Kurosaki. 💻 Technology The league and ticket vendor TicketSmarter recently announced a 5yr naming-rights deal. A multi-year partnership with FloSports, covers all games broadcasts. The league has also partnered with TrackMan to track data for batters and pitchers. ✔ ESG Three areas of community-focus: Increasing diversity in the baseball industry, encouraging youth participation and mentoring those seeking to break into the sports industry. Under the partnership with TicketSmarter, $1 from every transaction is donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the V Foundation and Coach to Cure MD, among others. 💲 Opportunities Despite recent strides in tech adoption, #sportstech companies with the following offerings should consider reaching out to the league: Fan engagement, Player development, Marketing and Sponsorship activation. Buying decisions are made by the league itself and by individual teams. You might also look at teams' Booster Organisations, which arrange host accommodation for players, but also support club development and fundraising efforts. For more info, please follow American Sports CONNECT and get in touch! 🗣 Shoutouts: The Idaho Foodbank Special Olympics Colorado OT Sports Industries, Inc., BaseballCloud Frito-Lay #sportsbiz

It has been great to watch the Bananas’ meteoric rise these last few years. I know I had a blast when they came to Kannapolis over the summer. It does beg the question not of baseball, but all sports what can be emulated to bring in the number of fans that the Bananas have. #BAClassroom #TheBusinessOfMotorsports #EarnYourDreams #sportsbiz #marketing #branding #advertising

We are thrilled to announce a partnership between AWRE Sports & Sportradar’s Synergy Sports for the upcoming spring season! For more details, here is the full press release… In an exciting new partnership aimed at transforming the way college baseball and softball programs utilize video and data, AWRE Sports has partnered with Sportradar's Synergy Sports. The collaboration is set to launch for the upcoming 2024 college baseball and softball season for all mutual clients. Current Sportradar clients will now be able to add AWRE Sports' multi-angle camera video directly to their Synergy Sports accounts, which will improve the overall quality of video, adding more video angles, while also making the video capture process effortless. AWRE Sports clients will be able to seamlessly upload their video and data to Synergy Sports' baseball platform making the process of using the two companies frictionless for all mutual clients that opt-in. "Our objective is clear - we strive to be used at every competitive baseball and softball field in the country," said Ken Spangenberg, Chief Sales Officer for AWRE. "Partnering with Sportradar's Synergy Sports not only strengthens our objective but also expedites our initiatives, capitalizing on their widespread influence and reputation." Through this integration, AWRE Sports and Synergy Sports baseball and softball programs will have a clear competitive advantage over their competitors while also improving the workflow for coaching staffs. #sportstech #sportsbiz

We have three prime prospects at Baseball United that we are working to connect with as we build and grow our league and product: 1. Baseball fans in the Middle East and South Asia: There are about 75 Million avid baseball fans within this region. These fans are higher educated, higher income, and have higher employment rates than rep pop (ie, higher than the average citizen) They spend more time online, stream more content, watch more live events, and purchase more products across all categories. And while baseball is played at the youth and national team levels in their home countries, there’s never been a professional league to drive the aspiration and inspiration needed to truly galvanize this lucrative fan base. 2. International baseball fans around the world: There’s never been a better time for global baseball. The World Baseball Classic last year broke every record for an international baseball event, including ticket sales, broadcast viewership, sponsorship revenue, merch sales, etc. The Caribbean Series happening now will also break viewership records for that event (it’s in Miami this week and next). And our own Baseball United Showcase event was broadcast in 127 countries, with most of the viewership happening outside of the Middle East. So we have a chance to augment our local fan base with a premier professional baseball league/product that’s happening during Major League Baseball (MLB)’s offseason - November - February. 3. New/Non-baseball fans: We not only have the opportunity to tap into the 1 Billion person cricket fan base within South Asia as a complementary bat and ball sport, we also have a chance to excite a newer, younger, more diverse audience. These new fans have a different point of market entry (POME) then traditional baseball/sports fans, and are more allured by great content, differentiated social, and strong connects back to culture, i.e., music, fashion, lifestyle, etc. They also want to see people who look like them competing (we have players from 30 countries in Baseball United). Also, importantly, as opposed to the traditional baseball fan whose average age is 57 years old, these burgeoning baseball fans in the Middle East and South Asia have an average age of 27 years old. The upside is here is huge. Very excited and bullish on the opportunity to grow the sports ecosystem and help drive the future of sport with the right partners as we deliver for the above fan groups. 🙏⛏️⚾️❤️ #baseball #baseballunited #sportsbusiness #sportsbiz #linkedinsports #entrepreneurship #broadcast #venturecapital #middleeast #india #sportsmarketing

Check out our latest Blog all about the sensational new sporting experience ... Banana Ball!

New Post: MLB stadiums across the US: How many ballparks have you visited? There are 30 MLB baseball parks across the United States, plus one in Canada, where games are hel during the season. Each field has its own charms and hidden gems that make them unique. Many of the MLB fields have been functional for decades, while others do not have as much historic appeal and opened their doors more recently. While these fields have the primary purpose of hosting their respective MLB home teams, there are other events held at these venues, including additional sporting events, concerts, races and more. Here is a list of all 30 MLB stadiums, organized from oldest to newest. This list is set up in order of when the first baseball game was played on the field. For some, that date differs from when it was first opened, if they were used for different sporting events.  Fenway Park is the oldest of the MLB stadiums. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)YANKEES PASS WHITE SOX FOR MOST PERFECT GAMES IN MLB HISTORY WITH DOMINGO GERMAN'S PERFORMANCE Fenway Park, 1912Wrigley Field, 1914Dodger Stadium, 1962Angel Stadium, 1966Oakland Coliseum, 1968Kauffman Stadium, 1973Rogers Centre, 1989Guaranteed Rate Field, 1991Oriole Park, 1992Progressive Field, 1994Coors Field, 1995Tropicana Field, 1998Chase Field, 1998T-Mobile Park, 1999Minute Maid Park, 2000Comerica Park, 2000Oracle Park, 2000American Family Field, 2001PNC Park, 2001Great American Ball Park, 2003Petco Park, 2004Citizens Bank Park, 2004Busch Stadium, 2006Nationals Park, 2008Citi Field, 2009Yankee Stadium, 2009Target Field, 2010loanDepot park, 2012Truist Park, 2017Globe Life Field, 20201. Fenway Park, 1912The first game played by the Boston Red Sox was in historic Fenway Park in 1912, making it the oldest of all MLB stadiums. The venue has kept its historic feel, while adding in modern elements over the years. Before playing at Fenway, the team played at Huntington Avenue Grounds from 1901 until 1911. 2. Wrigley Field, 1914Wrigley Field opened its doors to the public in 1914. The Chicago Cubs play at the second-oldest MLB field. 3. Dodger Stadium, 1962The Los Angeles Dodgers play in Dodger Stadium, a field that held its first game in April 1962. The team's original home was in Brooklyn, New York, but they made the move to Los Angeles in 1958.  Dodger Stadium opened up in April 1962. (George Rose/Getty Images)MLB OPENING DAY: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIRST DAY OF BASEBALL SEASON While in the process of building Dodger Stadium, the team played at the Los Angeles Coliseum. 4. Angel Stadium, 1966Anaheim, California, is where you can find Angel Stadium. The first game held on the field was in 1966. The only time Angel Stadium has been renovated was in the late 1990s. Even though the stadium has not seen any changes in recent years, there were a lot of changes happening during its early years. Beginning in 1980, the NFL's Los Angeles Rams shared the stadium with the baseball team after it was rem

Interesting insights here on how the National Hockey League (NHL) has managed to keep their sponsorship revenues on par with other major leagues despite having a smaller fan base. While innovations like digital board ads, helmet decals, and more have been heavily debated by fans, it’s clear that they are having a major impact on the rapid growth of league sponsorship revenue. Check it out ⬇️ #sportssponsorship #innovation

Two-way versatile big every team can use

For the first time this summer, the All-Ripken Games will be aligned with Baseball Factory and Softball Factory to maximize player development. This week, Sports Destination Management caught up with Amanda Shank to discuss Ripken Baseball's growth and the synergies that now exist as a result. Excerpt: Q: "What are the All-Ripken events like?" A: "I would think of (the All-Ripken Games) as all-star events for individuals. In 2023, we acquired The Baseball Factory and Softball Factory, an organization focused on player development, and they play a big role in this. In addition to having opening ceremonies for the athletes, we put them into games and hold skill competitions. A lot of the events are 8U to 14U, but for the older age groups, the Baseball Factory works on identifying talent and getting players placed at the right schools." Read more: https://lnkd.in/eBzSq-jZ #baseball