The Cleveland Indians Snow Days "Snopening" Soon

Image from ClevelandIndians.mlb.com

The leaves are gone, temperatures have turned cold, and snow has fallen which means it’s time again for the Cleveland Indians to transform Progressive Field from “baseball park to winter playground” (Grayshock).  After a mere four weeks of hard work, this MLB team is bringing much needed life to a city that tends to go dark during the rough winter months. 

The Indians Snow Days is a winter festival for friends and families to enjoy the off-season and make memories in a unique way. Last year it was reported that just over 50,000 fans attended the 2010 Snow Days event.  Experiencing the success they were anticipating, the Indians are hoping for even better results in their second year.  Returning will be The Batterhorn, a 200 foot, 8-lane tubing hill, The Frozen Mile, “an ice skating track around the outfield and the first non-symmetrical ice skating path in the United States” (Indians.com), and The Rookie Rink,, a smaller rink for beginner skaters to practice in center field.

New this year will be The Frozen Diamond, a regulation sized ice skating rink covering the infield.  For baseball fans this may be hard to swallow but three main events are already planned to draw in a different breed of fans.  “The Frozen Diamond Face-Off” includes a High School Hockey Tournament spanning three days in December, a January 5^th competition between local high school rivals, St. Edward and St. Ignatius, and a January 15^th faceoff between Ohio State and Michigan Universities. 

For those not wanting to brave the elements, not to worry, there is an indoor Kidsland and “Warming Area” featuring arts and crafts, baseball and holiday activities, video games, televisions showing movies and sporting events, and visits from “Santa Slider”, the beloved Indians mascot.

“Snoepening” day is Friday, November 25 and runs until January 16.  Tickets range from $5.00 for those just coming to watch the fun to $100 for a family pack (2 Adults, 2 Children).  Group tickets and private buyout days are also available.

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/cle/fan_forum/snowdays.jsp#home

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2011/11/indians_snow_days_opens_this_f.html

http://www.cleveland.com/wfny/index.ssf/2011/01/indians_close_doors_on_first_e.html

Sponsorship and Fund Raising In Your Community

Picture From:  www.dojiggy.com

Over the last couple of months I’ve been working a great deal with fundraising for our school and community youth leagues.  The economy has made it even more difficult to not only maintain the costs of operating these education and youth sports programs but also continue to see positive results in fund raising.  While we have seen an increase in profits, most organizations in our region have not.  Much of our success can be attributed to the support of our community and the hard work and dedication of our volunteers but that can only carry an organization so far.  Realizing this, we have been attempting to find new, creative opportunities with more options and diversity in our fund raising.

While many of the education and youth leagues are still only considering sales from catalogs to sub sandwiches as fund raising methods, many forget the idea of looking to local business to help support their cause as sponsors.  Yes, we see names of businesses on the back of t-shirts or signs in the outfield of summer youth leagues, but what about the rest of the year and what are the businesses getting out of sponsorship?  In an interview with Full Sail University, Kathy Kopacz, sports marketing consultant in the sports industry for more than 20 years, gave these recommendations for obtaining successful sponsorship: Make sure that the goals and objectives of your organization is in line with your potential sponsor, look at the sponsorship as a partnership, and follow-up and deliver results.  Although this may be more directed to the larger sports industry, some points can be taken away to help in smaller organizations as well. 

For example, because sponsors of community organizations will most likely be on the local level, it may not be as important to show statistics or financial results from sponsorship but appeal to the business’s sense of pride in supporting something bigger.  Local businesses are usually aware of the benefits of sponsoring the communities they provide services to.  If the business is supporting a youth sports team, give them a game schedule with a special invitation to attend and send pictures and updates of the team’s season highlights.  For school events, have students write thank you letters or make a poster to sign.  Many times, all that is needed to gain and retain sponsorship is the simple acknowledgement of appreciation.

As the economy continues to hit families, organizations, and businesses hard, it will become even more important to ensure that the investment being made by sponsors is found to be worthwhile.  The question is, is your organization looking for unique, creative, and different ideas to present to your community and potential sponsors?

How To Get Sponsors For Your Event

Dicks Sporting Goods Sponsorship Request

How to Get Sponsors to Support A Walk-A-Thon or Other Fundraising Event

Cheerleading: From Youth Sport to Professional Marketing Strategy

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The topic of whether cheerleading should be considered a sport has been debated for years and there is still no clear winner.  However, there is no arguing the influence cheerleaders have on their peers and their ability to bring in revenue from youth to professional levels. 

I began cheerleading when I entered Junior High and I admit, initially it was the typical stereotype of girls jumping around, waving pom-poms and wearing pleated skirts.  That all changed as I entered High School and a group of professional cheerleading coaches and choreographers were hired to work with our squads and get us competition ready.  All of a sudden we were doing more than standing on the sidelines cheering.  We were becoming athletes as opposed to “Barbie dolls”.  We were running laps, building muscles, learning how to tumble, doing stunts, practicing for hours everyday and gaining respect and popularity.  Cheerleading now required year-round dedication because of our support in many sports and competitions as well as acting as a continuous role model and maintaining academic performance.

As cheerleaders transform into athletes, their ability to set trends among their peers becomes a greater asset to companies who want to market to girls, especially ages 7 to 17.  According to a 2007 study done by Active Marketing Group, 3.3 million Americans will participate in cheerleading, 1.3 million will cheer more than 60 days, and Pop Warner has seen a 20% increase in cheer participation.  In addition, the 5,400 cheerleading and dance squads make up 45% of total participation in the organization. (Active Network) These statistics are only in the Pee Wee through High School age range and do not include the major influence cheerleading has on colleges and universities of all sizes nationwide.  While colleges may not see as big a revenue from their cheerleading programs as youth or professional, they are stirring the biggest controversy with the attempt at making cheerleading a Title IV sport.

On the professional level, the role of a cheerleader is much different than in youth and college.  Cheerleaders are primarily a marketing tool for professional sports teams and an additional source of publicity and revenue.  The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are just as recognizable as the football team they represent.  Appearances for the top professional cheerleaders ranges from $100-$500 per hour per cheerleader and they work closely with marketing and community relations teams to attract fans and new sponsorship. Although professional teams are reluctant to put a specific number on the value that cheerleading brings to their organization, it is obviously enough to keep the program running. 

Regardless of if you consider cheerleading a sport, it is undeniable that it is “big business”.  From youth to professional levels, the marketing opportunities for companies targeting girls and tweens to football and basketball teams appealing to men and women, the possibilities are endless.

http://www.activenetworkrewards.com/Assets/AMG+2009/Cheerleading.pdf

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=drehs/040316

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41291516/The_NFL_s_10_Best_Cheerleading_Squads