All-Star Games: Behind the scenes
At any rate, this was the phrase chosen by Lake Elsinore Storm general manager Chris Jones. His ballclub hosted the California vs. Carolina League All-Star Game on June 23, so the highs and lows of the experience were still fresh in his mind.
"I've been working in sports for 17 years, and that was definitely the biggest week of my career," said Jones. "It's tough to pull off, and not something I'd want to do every season, but it was ultimately a success."
Indeed, the one thing that everyone can agree on when it comes to hosting All-Star Games is that it is lot of hard work -- an all-encompassing three-day event that requires (at least) a year of planning and thousands of man hours. In short, it is not for the faint of heart.
All-Star season has mercifully passed -- eight of the midsummer classics have been staged over the past four weeks, with the New York-Penn League contest still to come -- so now is a good time to reflect on the challenging, but ultimately rewarding experience of hosting.
Logistics, logistics and more logistics
The aforementioned Carolina/California League All-Star Game is one of two inter-circuit games that take place in the Minors, and therefore one of the most ambitious. Players from 18 teams spread out over six states descended upon Lake Elsinore for the event, and Storm personnel were responsible for coordinating the travel.
"JetBlue is my friend," said Jones in a bit of unsolicited product placement. "Most airlines charge $50 per change, but JetBlue was very workable, they let us change the names of the passengers and dates of the flight with no charge."
And when it comes to All-Star Game rosters, change is inevitable. Injuries, promotions, demotions and a wide range of other variables all come into play, so the host team must constantly modify travel plans.
"I had heard some nightmare stories [from previous host teams]," said Jones. "But in the end, everyone was able to get here and then get back home."
Another considerable challenge was finding sponsors for the event.
"Given the economy, it was tough to get support for what we were doing. We did OK on that, but not great," said Jones. "There's more bang for the buck in sponsoring something all season long, as opposed to just a one-day event. Without TV [broadcasting the game], it was a hard sell."
Not that the Storm didn't try to get the game televised. The club, located within an hour's drive of the entertainment epicenter of Los Angeles, attempted to negotiate a national cable broadcast. (Currently, the Triple-A All-Star Game is the only such Minor League contest to be nationally televised.)
"We wanted to blaze that trail, but it ended up being too expensive," said Jones. "Being located close to LA made things cheaper, but at the end of the day, we're still on a Minor League budget."
And whether nationally televised or not, one of the Storm's main goals was to promote some of the unique aspects of the Southern California lifestyle. Environmentalism and extreme sports both play a large role.
"'Green Extreme', that's the philosophy of the Lake Elsinore marketing plan," said Jones. "Action sports are big here. At the game we had motocross guys, and [skateboarder] Andy MacDonald threw out the first pitch, which was brought out onto the field in a low-rider [car].
"We went about it like it was just another game, but at the same time we made extra sure that we had our I's dotted and our T's crossed. We're showcasing our entire operation, and we didn't want anything to slip through the cracks."
An organization-wide effort
The Fort Myers Miracle hosted the 2009 Florida State League All-Star Game, marking the fourth time they have done so since 1997.
This year's event brought a few challenges the team hadn't dealt with before.
"The best way to handle [All-Star Game] expenses is by finding sponsors," said Miracle senior director of corporate sales Terry Simon, who coordinated the event. "But because of the economic situation, we weren't as able to find as many as in years past. That had us rethinking how we do things, like scaling back on [player and executive] gifts, extra-curricular activities and dinner menus."
But when all was said and done, the team more often than not found ways to compensate.
"It didn't affect things as much as I thought it would," said Simon. "Maybe in 2001, the gift would have been a duffel bag with a polo shirt, t-shirt, shorts and more. But this year, we decided to give just one nice gift [an All-Star logo watch], as opposed to a bagful of stuff that they probably already have."
And while Simon may have been in charge of coordinating the endless logistical details, she was quick to give credit to the rest of her Miracle cohorts.
"Everyone here jumps on board and is eager to help out, and each person is assigned a specialized job," said Simon. "This year we had someone sit in the hotel lobby all day and serve as the All-Star Game concierge, answering questions about the activities that were going on in town and at the stadium."
The necessity of doling out specific tasks to specific people also was brought home by Frisco RoughRiders executive vice president Michael Byrnes. The RoughRiders hosted the Texas League All-Star Game at Dr Pepper Ballpark, which they had last done in 2005.
"The game isn't much of a challenge in and of itself; we already host 70-plus games a year," said Byrnes. "It's the events that we only get to do every once in a while. ... We'll make each event someone's special project, something that they can own. I think that helps us all rest a little easier."
And there are plenty of events that need to be organized, from league meetings to golf outings to pre- and post-game parties to the Home Run Derby and beyond.
"I always went to sleep making sure that a notepad and pen were next to the bed," said Byrnes. "If I had an idea, I wanted to make sure I could write it down and not just forget about it."
Eight down... one to go
The one team still in the planning stages for a 2009 All-Star Game is the State College Spikes, who will host the New York-Penn League late-summer classic on Aug. 18.
"By the time we play the game, this will have been an 18-month process," said Spikes general manager Jason Dambach. "We're continually meeting, tossing out ideas and planning events. Really, it's all just a long series of events, three days' worth. The game is the easy part. Once that first pitch is thrown, we'll feel OK."
One of the team's biggest priorities is to make sure they utilize and promote all that State College has to offer.
"We have a unique downtown area, and we want to showcase that," said Dambach, referring to his team's location within the Penn State campus. "So we're going to close off a street and kick things off with a downtown fest."
The Spikes also see the game as an opportunity to promote their season-long "green" initiatives.
"We play in the first LEED [Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design] certified ballpark in the country," said Dambach of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. "So we're going to run a lot of green promotions. Fans who take public transportation will be awarded prizes, and if you drive a hybrid you can park for free. ... We'll paint the bases green, have a 'Green Fan of the Game' and have displays on the concourse. Even our [All-Star] logo has a green theme."
All of this will be in the service of the Spikes' ultimate goal -- one shared by all teams that are fortunate (and masochistic) enough to host a Midsummer Classic.
"We want to go above and beyond with everything we do," said Dambach. "The challenge is to do things so well that people tell us this is the best All-Star Game we've ever been to."
Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MLB.com.