Historic Birmingham a hotbed for new ideas

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Every year for more than a decade, the Birmingham Barons turn back the clock when they participate in the Rickwood Classic, a game that harkens back to the city's rich baseball heritage.

This week, baseball executives, team officials, marketing representatives and vendors have descended on Birmingham for the Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar, a four-day event that began Tuesday night and enables members of these groups to look back at lessons learned during the 2007 season and, more importantly, apply them to 2008.

"The main goal is for everyone to walk away with at least one thing that they'll take back to their ballpark," said Jill Rusinko, manager of special operations and charity partners for Minor League Baseball. "It's all about idea sharing. We pride ourselves on that."

This year's event follows up on last year's success in Charlotte, N.C. Representatives from 95 teams around the country, along with Mexico and the Dominican Republic, were present in 2006, marking the seminar's largest-ever turnout.

Attendance was expected to be even larger this year, with members of the baseball community joined by representatives of a handful of minor league hockey teams, the PGA's Nationwide Tour and the University of Tennessee.

"We pull in not just the baseball crowd," Rusinko noted. "It's become more popular in the non-baseball community. They know Minor League Baseball does a lot with promotions, so they've asked to come here and gain that knowledge."

"This conference means so much," added Dan Migala, who emceed the event and publishes the Migala Report. "It's almost like a Christmas family party. It's getting everyone together and sharing ideas, seeing old faces and making new friends."

A series of seminars begins Wednesday morning with "Timeless Ideas from a Baseball Legend," presented by two-time Major League Baseball Executive of the Year Roland Hemond, who currently serves as the executive advisor to the president of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

West Virginia Power general manager Ryan Gates will address "Top 10 Original Promotional and Ballpark Ideas," while the Rickwood Classic and "Connecting with the Community" is the subject of a discussion by David Brewer, executive director of the Friends of Rickwood Field and Barons general manager Jonathan Nelson.

Also on Wednesday, New Orleans Saints vice president of tickets and suite sales Mike Stanfield will speak on "How to Collect Fan Data and Turn it into Ticket Sales." He'll be followed by Zephyrs general manager Mike Schline, who will run a seminar entitled "Rebuilding after Katrina."

Smaller group sessions are slated for the afternoon on game entertainment -- featuring owner of Total Sports Entertainment Bob Masewicz, Kane County Cougars general manager Jeff Ney, Memphis Redbirds director of marketing Jason Potter, and Bill Shanahan, president and chief operating officer of the Mobile BayBears, Modesto Nuts and Columbia Blowfish.

"I've been coming here for more than 20 years and I think we've already gotten 10 or 15 promotional ideas," Shanahan said. "This seminar continues to get better and better because one idea is worth the price of admission."

Colorado Sky Sox president and general manager Tony Ensor will participate in a discussion of ticket sales along with Migala and Amy Venuto, executive director of the Ripken Group.

Off-site events include tours of Rickwood Field and Regions Park, home of the Barons.

Speakers on Thursday include Charleston RiverDogs GM Dave Echols ("Salute to the Negro Leagues"), Fort Wayne Wizards GM Mike Nutter ("Faith Nights"), Buffalo Bisons director of sales Chris Hill ("Marvel Comic Books"), Kane County GM Jeff Sedivy ("Peanut-Free Night"), Brevard County Manatees GM Buck Rogers ("Website Success") and Lake Elsinore Storm president Dave Oster ("Going Green").

Rogers also will speak on game programs and baseball card sets, while Echols will discuss his team's recent advertising campaign strategies. West Michigan Whitecaps vice president Jim Jarecki will address the use of e-technology without "forgetting old-school marketing," and Jason Klien and Casey White of Plan B. Branding have the unique topic "Ideas We Smuggled from Japan."

Slated for Friday is "More Dumb Stuff that Works and Sells Tickets" by Chattanooga Lookouts president and general manager Frank Burke. Arkansas Travelers GM Pete Laven will also run a segment called, "Bridging the Gap between the Old and the New: Promotion Experiences from Moving into a New Stadium from a 74-year-old Stadium."

One of the most popular features of the seminar is the Job Fair, which runs Wednesday through Friday and offers anyone trying to break into baseball a chance to pair up with industry executives with jobs to fill.

Also running throughout the event is a trade show, where three dozen exhibitors display the latest merchandise, souvenirs, ticketing technologies, game-day entertainment, ballpark innovations, insurance and publications.