Planner Up!

To walk down Yawkey Way on a typical Friday night in July is to be submerged in a cacophony of excited voices, throngs of revelers discussing the evening to come and the tempting aroma of onions and peppers frying with Italian sausages.

The street abuts Fenway Park in Boston, home of the champion Red Sox baseball team, but the end of the World Series in October doesn’t mean events at the ballpark are done until spring. In fact, baseball stadiums around the country — most of them in major markets — are reaching out to planners looking for a truly unique venue.

“If you really want to think out of the box and just go that little extra, a ballpark can do just that,” says Linda I. Thompson, a certified meeting professional who is president of ISES Northern California. As president and CEO of Cappa & Graham Inc., a San Francisco-based event and destination management firm, she has used the Giants’ baseball stadium, AT&T Park, for various clients.

Ballparks are certainly not your typical hotel ballroom specifically designed with your event needs in mind — but then again, they’re not your typical hotel ballroom. And that’s a challenge more planners should take on, according to Thompson.

“It’s not like walking into our City Hall or an art museum. It’s a nontraditional venue, but it’s a great venue and it’s very flexible,” she says of AT&T Park. “I think we as meeting planners have to challenge ourselves to think nontraditionally, and adjust to see if that ballpark or some other type of facility is flexible.”

Although events at arenas and stadiums have not typically been high on planners’ list of favored venues — the 2007 Event Solutions Annual Forecast put them at 16th on a list of the 21 most popular types of event venues — as planners look for unique options for their clients, and as baseball stadiums develop their event capabilities, ballparks are becoming an increasingly viable option.

Here’s a look at three baseball stadiums around the country that are catching planners’ eyes.

AT&T Park

On the other end of the spectrum (and the country) from history-steeped venues like Boston’s Fenway Park is AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. A newer facility, the park has quickly become a part of the Northern Californian destination.

“The great thing about this city is the ballpark has become one of the icons of the city in the short seven years that it’s been open,” says Jens Weiden of AT&T Park. “It has great views of the bay and the Bay Bridge, so you feel like you’re part of the city, but you’re still at your event and it’s still enclosed and intimate.”

For Thompson, the stadium’s flexibility is also a major plus. “I think in the past a lot of facilities like that, all they really wanted to do there was have their sporting events, and they didn’t really want to open up to do private events,” she says. “The venue there is so flexible and the whole staff there is really flexible that they can do anything, from a huge corporate event to a very intimate meeting.”

Large groups will appreciate the park’s size as well. The average group size is 300 to 1,000, but crowds aren’t a problem at a stadium that can accommodate 40,000 fans at a game.

And just because it’s a ballpark doesn’t mean baseball hats, hotdogs and beer are the order of the day. AT&T Park can be dressed up or dressed down, according to Thompson. “When I went there in my cocktail dress for [a] gala, I felt just as comfortable as when I went there for a baseball game,” she says.

THE PITCH: One of the few baseball stadiums that truly focuses on catering to event business, with spectacular views and flexibility of size and ambiance.

PLANNERS SAY: “We come back because our clients want to come back. They are expecting a tradition of going to AT&T Park just like it’s becoming a tradition in San Francisco.” — Robert J. Irvin, Senior Vice President, Marsh

SPACES:
Field Club Lounge — A chic lounge environment that suits anything from a sit-down meal to a cocktail party. Stats: 350 reception / 150 seated

Giants’ & Visitors’ Clubhouse — Kick your event off in the place the Giants kick off their games. Stats: 100 reception / 50 seated

AAA Club Level — An open lounge area with views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco waterfront. Stats: (Concourse) 2,500 reception

Coca-Cola Fan Lot — Interactive play area for kids and kids at heart.

Scoreboard Plaza — Panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay and East Bay from this spot behind the center field scoreboard. Stats: 500 reception / 300 seated

Yachts — Luxurious environs on either of the two yachts adjacent to the ballpark. Stats: 2-20 guests

WINNING LINEUP: Groups average 300 to 1,000 people.

EXTRA INNINGS: Batting tunnels

MAKE CONTACT: (415) 972-1800 | salesinfo@attpark.com
www.attpark.com

Citizens Bank Park

In Philadelphia in August, people are thinking about three things: vacation, the beach and baseball, says John Hagins, senior director of the American Red Cross Blood Services in Philadelphia. For this reason, Hagins chose Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, as the venue for a large blood drive his organization was staging. Over the three years Hagins has used the park, the number of blood donors has more than doubled.

Holding events there also offers visitors a unique way to experience Philadelphia, according to Kristin Zeller, the coordinator for Phillies Special Events.

“One theme throughout the ballpark is Philadelphia,” she explains. “From the interesting rooms and décor chosen by Philadelphia-based architecture and design firm Ewing Cole; to amazing art throughout the park by such local artists as Dick Perez, Dane Tilghman and Max Mason; to developing menus and concessions based on Philadelphia locations and fare, our city’s history and culture is deeply rooted in Citizens Bank Park.”

THE PITCH: Modern, functional working event spaces with a unique backdrop in a setting inspired by the City of Brotherly Love.

PLANNERS SAY: “We were able to couple a baseball-type environment with something good that [the Phillies] were doing for the community and it just worked out fabulously.” — John Hagins, Senior Director of the American Red Cross Blood Services in Philadelphia

GAME PLAN: It’s not your typical venue (that’s why you’re there), so make sure your event plan complements the unique character of the park. “Try to figure out a way to capture the uniqueness of the facility in what you’re doing,” recommends Hagins. “The challenge for us was more opening our minds to make sure we took full advantage of what the facility had to offer.”

SPACES:
The Diamond Club — Elegant environment with contemporary art murals and spectacular view of ballpark. Stats: 500 reception / 250 seated

Hall of Fame Club Meeting Room – Upscale meeting room with adjacent patio deck. Stats: 40 reception / 30 seated

Executive Dining Room — Old-style country club atmosphere where top Philadelphia VIPs dine. Stats: 125 reception / 90 seated

Hall of Fame Club (First or Third Base Side) — Actual home plates and bats trimming the bistros, walls covered with thousands of real baseballs, floor-to-ceiling windows. Stats: 400 reception / 100 seated

Main Concourse and Plazas — Ideal for trade shows, conventions and job fairs. Stats: 5,000 reception / 1,200 seated

WINNING LINEUP: 25 to 40,000 people.

EXTRA INNINGS:

• Behind-the-scenes tours
• Philly Phanatic appearances
• In-park audio-visual messages
• Alumni player appearances

MAKE CONTACT: (215) 218-5100 | specialevents@phillies.com
www.phillies.com

Fenway Park

It doesn’t get much more iconic than Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, who also happen to be the current World Series champions. And that doesn’t hurt its cachet for attendees.

“I think for a lot of our clients and people who come from out of town, especially now, there’s just a magical feeling about it. It’s all-American,” says Lisa Arnold, who is in the events department at State Street Global Advisors. “It’s just a very unique event experience.”

Arnold has done sales meetings, holiday parties and a Big Brother Big Sister event there, and it was at this latter event that she saw the park’s family-friendly possibilities.

“Fenway’s such a child-friendly atmosphere. Especially for kids that don’t come from very much, just to be at Fenway Park…their faces were glowing,” she says. “It’s probably the best event I’ve ever done.” She held the event at the State Street Pavilion, one of a number of spaces of varying sizes and atmospheres at Fenway.

Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the most well-known ballparks in the country. David Shapiro, CEO of the Mass Mentoring Partnership, has used the pavilion as well as the higher-end EMC Club for the past three years for a fundraising business breakfast.

“There’s something about a place that has an awesome visual, as well as being a place where people have been before, that just makes it a powerful place to have an event,” he says.

THE PITCH: A historic, quintessentially Bostonian venue that is known for its friendly, flexible staff and offers a number of different venues for events of varying sizes and styles.

PLANNERS SAY: “There’s just a magical feeling about it. It’s all-American. It’s just a very unique event experience.” — Lisa Arnold, Events, State Street Global Advisors

GAME PLAN: Keep in mind that you’ll have to get your group to the right part of the park and let them know where to park. “Just getting people into the place is altogether a little bit more complicated than at a hotel,” says Shapiro. He used signage and staff to direct guests and gave them a list of available parking areas and prices that the Fenway staff helped put together.

SPACES:
EMC Club — High-end restaurant environment with sweeping views of the field. Stats: 300 reception / 160 seated

State Street Pavilion — More casual indoor event space with outdoor deck. Stats: 400 reception / 250 seated

Budweiser Right Field Roof — Outdoor deck with a view of the city’s skyline. Stats: 400 reception / 180 seated

Big Concourse — Partially covered outdoor concourse space that is often used for trade shows and job fairs. Stats: 5,000+ reception / 500 seated

Green Monster — Deck atop the infamous Green Monster, Fenway’s left field wall, that is popular for cocktail receptions. Stats: 200 reception

Absolut Clubhouse — Indoor event space with all the HDTV you could ask for. Stats: 125 reception / 80 seated

Luxury Suites — Talk about a board room with a view. Stats: 50 reception / 30 seated

Third Base Concourse — Indoor event space with partial view of playing field. Stats: 300 reception / 150 seated

First Base Deck — Open-air deck offering panoramic views of the field and the Boston skyline. Stats: 300 reception / 120 seated

Jordan’s Third Base Deck — New in 2007, second-level deck offering expansive views of the field. Stats: 250 reception

WINNING LINEUP: Fenway can accommodate gatherings from 20 to 5,000, although the most popular size is 300, according to Chuck Steedman, vice president of Fenway Enterprises.

EXTRA INNINGS:

• Private tour of ballpark
• Greeting on center field video board
• Red Sox legend
• Visit from Wally, the Green Monster
• Red Sox souvenirs

MAKE CONTACT: www.fenwaypark.com | (617) 226-6791 events@redsox.com