Friday, March 31, 2000
Reds teams also hot in Louisville and Chattanooga
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Reds are a hot ticket from Chattanooga to Dayton. Tickets for the Chattanooga Lookouts — the Reds' Double-A affiliate — are sold out for the season, with some going for as much as $100 each.
For a minor-league game.
“We've got a 6,000-seat ballpark,” said JoJo Freeman, the Lookouts' director of media relations, “and I have no doubt we could sell twice that many tickets.”
The Reds' own ticket office has been swamped with orders since the team acquired Ken Griffey Jr. in February, but their minor-league affiliates are faring even better.
Chattanooga sold out in two hours when single-game tickets went on sale in January. The Reds play an exhibition there Saturday against the Orioles to inaugurate the team's new stadium.
Single-A Dayton, which will play in brand-new 7,200-seat Fifth Third Field, has sold 98 percent of its seats. Triple-A Louisville, which opens brand-new 13,000-seat Louisville Slugger Park, has sold about 50 percent of its seats, right where it wants to be.
The Reds' name is hot, but the fact that all three cities have new parks probably plays a bigger role.
“You've got two new towns (Louisville and Dayton), two new facilities,” Mr. Freeman said. “A new facility makes a big difference.”
The Reds switched Triple-A affiliates from Indianapolis to Louisville in large part because Louisville is such big Reds country — the same reason they moved one of their three Single-A franchises from Rockford, Ill., to Dayton.
And Louisville Riverbats General Manager Dale Owens is appreciative.
“Louisville Slugger Park is a home run,” he said, “but with the Reds, it's a grand slam home run. The interest in the Reds has always been strong in this market.”
And the fact that the Reds have good talent in the minor leagues also plays a part. Power-hitting outfielder Adam Dunn and left-handed pitcher Ty Howington, the club's top draft choice last year, are likely to start the season in Dayton. Chattanooga may get outfielders Austin Kearns and Ben Broussard. Louisville will get catcher Jason LaRue and probably shortstop Travis “Gookie” Dawkins.
“From an organizational and marketing standpoint, the Reds are doing a great job of placing their top prospects in a great city with a great stadium,” Dayton team President Bob Murphy said. “The Reds see the short-term and long-term benefits.”
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