Stepping up to the plate
Shown is one of the billboards erected in the Pittsburgh area to drum up interest in the Pony League World Series.
From left, Alex Hauser, Ashley Amistade and Carlee Forgie, all of Washington, post a sign on a fence at Lew Hays Pony Field in Washington Park to support the Washington team before its game with Lakewood, Calif., in the 2003 Pony League World Series.
One of Washington County’s most venerated summer events is taking a brand-new approach to attracting visitors.
At 61, this year’s Pony League World Series, which opens Friday, has a first-ever website, a new logo and is using social media, billboards and television and radio advertising in the greater Pittsburgh market to lure bigger crowds to its annual international championship series in Washington Park.
Organizers of the event, who acknowledge that the drop in attendance was because of complacency and changing times, made a decision early this year – amidst talk that the event might move to another part of the country – to give it one more shot with a multimedia approach that puts a much higher velocity on its pitch to area baseball fans.
Another reason for the attendance decline is simply the number of events that compete for a modern family’s entertainment dollar and their time, said PONY International President Abe Key, who also acknowledged that today’s youth are involved in more organized activities.
In its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s – when baseball truly was America’s pastime – Key said the Pony World Series regularly drew between 3,000 and 4,000 to a game and averaged 2,500 at the championship matchup.
“There’s a lot more going on now,” he said last week from California, where he was attending the Bronco League World Series.
Despite its attendance challenges, the event still generates more than $1 million in economic impact for the week it’s held here, said J.R. Shaw, executive director of the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency, a major backer of the renewed fan push.
And while youth in the area may be busy with more activities than their parents or grandparents ever were, Key noted that baseball remains vibrant through the Washington Youth Baseball summer program, which fields teams in the 5 to 6 age range in the Shetland League through age 18 at the Palomino League level.
World Series Tournaments Inc. is the local nonprofit that each year purchases the rights to sponsor the Pony League World Series tournament in Washington.
Nathan Voytek, a WSTI board member, said last week that the organization is responsible for everything related to the world series with the exception of play on the field, handling arrangements for hotels, food and nearly everything else involved with accommodating visiting teams.
In addition to paying a $3,500 sponsorship fee to PONY, WSTI is responsible for $40,000 needed to cover food and lodging for teams.
The group raises money through sales of food, souvenirs and sponsorships at the World Series games to fund the next year’s expenses.
But in recent years, Voytek said, money generated from the all-volunteer effort at the park hasn’t been enough. Last year, WSTI lost $25,000 in operating income.
Early this year, with the help of a $25,000 marketing grant from WCTPA and a $10,000 credit with Canonsburg-based Melone Advertising from WCTPA, Voytek’s group mounted the first-ever marketing and advertising effort to reach outside of Washington County. The tourism agency also contributed $10,000 for a sponsorship.
“There were discussions about do we want to keep doing this,” Voytek admitted last week.
The decision was to continue to sponsor the series for one more year, but with a major push for sponsors.
Melone developed brochures for WSTI to use in approaching local businesses for sponsorships.
The advertising agency also wrote and produced ads that have been airing in the Pittsburgh market during Pirates televised games on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan sports radio. Billboards announcing the world series were placed around Pittsburgh.
Voytek said assistance also came from the Observer-Reporter advertising department, as well as the Washington County Chamber, which each contributed lists of businesses to contact for the sponsorship drive. The Observer also contributed space for ads promoting the world series.
WSTI was able to sell night game sponsorships to Highmark, Chapman Corp., Rose Plastics, Washington Financial, Washington & Jefferson College and Washington Auto Mall.
According to Voytek, last year, WSTI collected about $32,000 in sponsorships; so far this year, $83,000 has been received.
As part of a cost-savings effort, the decision also was made to reduce the number of games from 10 to eight this year, and to hold the tournament from Friday through Wednesday instead of the previous eight-day schedule.
Voytek said it’s too early to tell if the marketing effort will bring back the throngs of yesteryear.
He and Key acknowledged that rebuilding a fan base will take a few seasons of concerted marketing efforts.
But Voytek is encouraged by the business support that’s occurred this year.
“I think we’re moving in the right direction,” he said.