An economic engine built on entertainment, plus baseball
When the Bridgeport Bluefish host their home opener April 30, more than baseball will be on display, by design.
The casual observer might believe a trip to the ballpark is about strikes, balls and plays at the plate, but for the host organization, baseball is only part of the experience, albeit one that in Bluefish Nation is peppered with bold-face names like Tommy John, who managed, and Willie Upshaw, who manages this year.
“Basically, I am blessed to be able to do a job that is about creating ways to make people smile,” said General Manager Ken Shepard. “A night out for a family of four for $50 is the epicenter of our ethos, which is affordable family entertainment. We are in the business of entertainment, not only in the baseball business. Entertainment is our main business.”
- Bridgeport Bluefish General Manager Ken Shepard with plans for a ballpark “man cave.”
There is a big-picture business side, too, and Shepard, a one-time college southpaw whose change-up never quite changed up, knows it well. The Bluefish organization possesses a $2 million annual revenue stream with the potential to infuse $14 million into the local economy via gasoline, restaurants, hotels and the like.
“The seven-times rule,” Shepard called it, saying, “Our mission is to provide memories for our guests and results for our marketing partners that are worth repeating.”
The formula includes a bobblehead night, featuring the popular plastic toys; Feed-Your-Face Monday, with a seat-and-eat $19.99 price tag; Wednesdays children eat free; and Thursdays draft beer is half price. Fireworks and family Sundays with the kids on the field are also part of the play-ball playbill. Tickets are $9 to $14. The Bluefish employ 10 full time and another 100 to 125 seasonally, not counting the 25-player roster (27 to start).
An ownership group headed by Frank Bolton owns the team and the Long Island Ducks, plus a part stake in the Camden River Sharks, all of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The league operates independently, but it feeds major league rosters and draws its talent from major-league-produced reports.
A “man cave” ”” actually an open platform on the third-base line ”” is still in the planning stages. Current thinking is women will be allowed by invitation only.
Besides the Bluefish, Fairfield and Sacred Heart universities”™ baseball teams use the stadium as their home diamond. On a recent sun-splashed afternoon, Sacred Heart Pioneers coach Nick Giaquinto and his squad prepared for a game. Though the season has been chilly, the Pioneers had already notched 29 games. As of press time, the Pioneers were 18-15, but only 3-3 in the friendly confines of The Ballpark at Harbor Yard.
The ballpark opened in 1998. Its $19 million price tag was funded through public and team contributions. It has a seating capacity of 5,300, with room for 200 more fans for sold-out games. Average attendance last year was 2,347. When it was built, the neighborhood, politely, had seen better days. “Mayor Joe Ganim” ”” elected 1991 ”” “had a vision for this neighborhood,” said Shepard. “The ballpark was the beginning ”” a cornerstone ”” of what is starting to see fruition as an economy resurging in Bridgeport.”
When the season opens against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, former first-round draft pick and seven-year big-league veteran Sean Burroughs will be on the field. One reason not to over-promote him is that he does not want to stay. “They all hope to be picked up,” said Paul Herrmann, the club”™s director of public relations. As such, Herrmann has a staffing situation he called “fluid.”
The Ballpark at Harbor Yard features concessions plus traditional ballpark fare served at two restaurants: the Harbor Yard Picnic Marina, an all-you-can-eat-buffet; and the Harbor Club, a restaurant ser
- Paul Herrmann, left, Bluefish director of public relations and baseball operations, and Sacred Heart Pioneers coach Nick Giaquinto.
ving “an upscale ballpark menu in a relaxing atmosphere.”
The stadium”™s United Way Kids Cove provides entertainment for children with a variety of playground equipment. There is a party suite for birthdays and other special occasions.
Reflecting on an atmosphere that he cited as clean, well-lit and with a police presence, Shepard said, “We”™ve had zero problems. The Bluefish have been a very successful venture for the city.”
Ninety percent of attendees are from Connecticut and 69 percent of those are from Fairfield County. One challenge is to interest the Bridgeport community itself, which lags in enthusiasm for the home team. Five zip codes outside the city provide more fans than any zip code within the city limits. On the upside, the regional influx of Latin Americans, with whom the game is popular, bodes well. “We do well with the Hispanic community,” Shepard said. The current squad has Hispanic, African-American, Japanese and Canadian players. “We”™re really a melting pot,” he said.
The ballpark has hosted two different all-star games in its history: the first Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game in 2001 and the 2006 Atlantic League All-Star Game. Harbor Yard was also the home field of the Bridgeport Barrage of MLL from 2001 to 2003; the Barrage relocated to Philadelphia after the 2003 season. In 2009, the Ballpark at Harbor Yard won the Atlantic League Park of the Year award.