Royals President Plans to Pay ESPN Duo for Promotion

OMAHA, NE - Omaha Royals President Alan Stein knows a good idea when he hears it. And he heard one this morning, in the form of a comedy bit on Mike and Mike in the Morning, aired locally on 1620 the Zone, Omaha's ESPN Radio. It's the sister station of Omaha's KOIL AM-1180, which will air all 144 Royals games again in 2010.

After ESPN's NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy kiddingly suggested that his television crew should interview fans about their thoughts on the first half of a game, Mike and Mike's producers put together some staged "interviews" with fans. Mike Golic suggested on the air that somebody might like that idea and pilfer it.

That triggered the light bulb over the head of Stein, always mindful of a good promotion.

At each of the Omaha Royals' 72 home games this season, the Royals will use a half-inning break for a "Mike and Mike Fan Mic" - going into the crowd at Rosenblatt Stadium and asking fans what they think about the game, how cold their beer is, or whatever else they want to chat about.

As Golic suggested on air and as Stein recognizes, you should have to pay for a good idea. So, the Royals are preparing to send a contract to Mike and Mike at their ESPN home in Bristol, Connecticut offering to pay them - as Stein termed it in his Kentucky drawl - "a dollar a holler." In other words, Mike and Mike's producers earned them the tidy sum of $72 this year.

"This will be a lot of fun for our fans," said Stein. "Obviously, it could put the Royals in pretty good position for a possible third consecutive Veeckie Award from ESPN the Magazine in 2010. And, of course, we would welcome Mike and Mike bringing their show to Rosenblatt for the last game ever on September 2, 2010."

For more information, contact Kevin McNabb, Director of Media Relations, at (402) 738-5103.

The Royals open their 2010 season at Rosenblatt Stadium on Thursday, April 8th at 7:05 p.m. facing the Memphis Redbirds. 2010 season tickets, mini-plans and other ticket packages are currently on sale, with single-game tickets going on sale Saturday, March 13. For tickets or more information, contact the Royals ticket office at (402) 738-5100.

ABOUT THE ROYALS: For the second year in a row, readers of Omaha Magazine voted the Omaha Royals as Best Omaha Sports Team in the magazine's 18th annual Best of Omaha Awards, published in its January/February 2010 edition. 371,046 fans attended Omaha Royals games in 2009, making the Royals the largest-drawing sports team or event in the metro area last year. The team's total attendance, as well as the average of 5,457 fans per game, marked its largest figures since the 2000 season. Omaha's Triple-A franchise has drawn over 300,000 fans a year to Rosenblatt Stadium for 22 consecutive seasons, dating back to 1988.