Can You Hear Me Now?
By: katypolansky | Category: Seating
There are some things that greatly affect a fan’s experience with promotions at the ballpark. One of the greatest influences is the public address system. I attended Saturday night’s AAA Tacoma Rainiers game in Tacoma, Washington. The game was darn near sold out and the energy at the opening pitch in 50 year-old Cheney Stadium was sky high for the division leading Rainiers. However, much of that energy dwindled by the middle of the game because the music being played and the commentary being made from the press box could only be heard by half of the fans in attendance.
Sound systems are often expensive to maintain and upgrade. Many old parks still use the speakers that were initially installed during construction over 20+ years ago. This is fine if the speakers produce understandable sounds waves. However, if the content is muddled the system needs to be upgraded. I was paying attention to the rules and the contestants playing sponsored in-between innings games on the field yet I couldn’t hear a single thing the PA announcer said. I was sitting in the second highest priced seats in the park. As a sponsor if I’m paying the Rainiers significant sponsorship dollars so that less than half its audience can hear my message, I’m not renewing in future seasons. In fact, I might even argue that some of my dollars should be returned for breach of contract. There are some things on a team’s and facility’s budget that can be put off into the future, having a PA system that works effectively is not one of them.
