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REV: MAY 11, 2009
FRANK V. CESPEDES
LAURA WINIG
CHRISTOPHER H. LOVELOCK
The Springfield Nor’easters:
Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues
It was barely 8 a.m. on January 19, 2008 and already Larry Buckingham knew this would be a
trying day. Buckingham, marketing director for the Nor’easters, a new Class A minor league baseball
team in Springfield, Massachusetts, had already taken telephone calls from two local reporters
seeking comment on the news that the city’s only other professional sports team, the Falcons, a minor
league ice hockey team, might leave the city. Many people in the region had heard a radio interview
the previous day in which the Falcons’ general manager announced that unless the team sold 300
more season tickets for the upcoming season, the Falcons would be leaving Springfield.
The Nor’easters had not played a game—yet—and wouldn’t for nearly a year and a half. They had
just opened their offices in Springfield. Owner Jimmy Mercante (a Springfield businessman) and
President and General Manager Bob Cortez eagerly anticipated their first season, which would start
in June 2009. But the Falcons’ announcement was troubling. The Nor’easters, too, needed to sell
plenty of season tickets for the team to thrive in Springfield. Ironically, Buckingham had just begun
preparing Nor’easters’ ticket offers. He would have the Falcons’ announcement in mind as he set
prices for the first season—a decision that had to be finalized before mid-June 2008, when tickets
were scheduled to go on sale. Buckingham’s situation was especially stressful because, although he
had a successful decade of experience in marketing various entertainment services, especially live
theatre, the sports industry was new to him.
The City of Springfield
Springfield, located 90 miles west of Boston, was the third largest city in Massachusetts. Through
the 1950s, the city was a vibrant and diverse manufacturing center, but by 2008 only a few large
manufacturers remained, and Springfield had lost many higher-wage-earning residents, resulting in
a 3.6% drop in average wage income since 1990.i In 2006, the U. S. government estimated that the
median income for a family of three was $37,800, and the median household income was $31,046.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Senior Lecturer Frank V. Cespedes, Laura Winig, and former Professor Christopher H. Lovelock prepared this case solely as a basis for class
discussion and not as an endorsement, a source of primary data, or an illustration of effective or ineffective management. All names and key data
in this case have been disguised. This case, though based on real events, is fictionalized, and any resemblance to actual persons or entities is
coincidental. There are occasional references to actual companies in the narration. The authors and HBS are grateful to C. J. Knudsen (Vermont
Lake Monsters) and Tim Baumann (Lowell Spinners) for their help in finalizing the case.
Copyright © 2008 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685,
write Harvard Business Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. This publication may not be digitized,
photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School.
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2510 | The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues
Nearly 25% of families lived below the poverty line. Approximately 60% of the households in
Springfield comprised families with children younger than 18 years of age, 10% were senior citizens
living alone or as couples, and 25% were single men or women under age 65 living alone. The
remaining 5% comprised all other living configurations.ii
But the news wasn’t entirely bad. Though Springfield had long been considered a working-class
city, the economy was changing as entrepreneurs, lured by the area’s low-cost housing and plentiful
labor, opened small businesses. Service industries such as healthcare and financial services offered
the hope of future employment opportunities for the city’s sizable youth population. Indeed, more
than 25% of Springfield’s 55,338 residents were under 18 years of age—the highest percentage in the
state.iii
Given its size, many newcomers and visitors to the city were surprised to discover how rarely
Springfield residents were exposed to professional sporting events. The greater Boston area was
home to world-class teams such as baseball’s Red Sox, football’s New England Patriots, hockey’s
Bruins, and basketball’s Celtics. But the Springfield area itself offered few spectator opportunities for
sports fans. Residents could attend college sporting events at local schools. Despite its fame as the
birthplace of basketball and as home to the Basketball Hall of Fame—a major tourist attraction—
Springfield had no professional basketball team. Aside from the Falcons hockey club, fans who
wanted to attend a professional sporting event had to drive elsewhere.
Minor League Baseball
In 2008, there were 176 minor league baseball teams in the U.S., competing through 19 regional
leagues. Minor League Baseball® was popular and generally well attended. Tickets were considered
very affordable, and the intimate venues allowed fans to get close to the players and the action.
Baseball fans liked that the young players were eager to show off their potential and played hard,
which made for exciting games.
The teams, located in small and mid-size cities as well as the suburbs of large cities, were
considered “player development programs” where young players were expected to hone their skills
in progressively challenging minor league classes—A, AA, and the highest, AAA—on their way up
(the players hoped) to the major leagues. Each of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball was
affiliated with minor league teams to which they could send young players for development at the
appropriate level of competition. The major league teams provided funding for players’ salaries as
well as bat and ball expenses. Minor league teams, however, were responsible for all other operating
expenses, including uniform expenses, league dues, staff salaries, office and travel expenses, and
stadium leases. Generally, club owners ran their teams as viable businesses (see Exhibit 1 for
Nor’easters’ estimated annual operating expenses). Buckingham knew that owner Jimmy Mercante
expected to at least break even in the first year. Some of the budgeted $1.96 million in expenses
would be offset by concession sales, and some borne (as noted) by the major league partner, but the
rest of the revenue was expected to come from ticket sales.
The team was scheduled to play a 76-game season (38 games played at home), with games
scheduled for six evenings (Monday-Saturday) and one afternoon (Sunday) weekly, from mid-June
through the first week of September. Players had only a handful of days off sprinkled throughout the
season. Springfield College offered the use of its stadium—a former high school football field that in
the 1990s had been converted to a 3,600-seat, open-air arena with 2,000-seat bleacher and (under the
roof) 1,600 grandstand seats; this was within the standard capacity range for Class A baseball teams.
The college provided the stadium in exchange for 100% of the parking revenue ($4 per car.); thus, the
Nor’easters were freed from paying any stadium leasing fees. (See Exhibit 2 for a diagram of the
2
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The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues | 2510
stadium.) The City of Springfield and three nearby colleges had pledged financial support totaling
$21,000. In addition, local restaurants and hotels, recognizing that the team’s games would likely
increase their own revenues, pledged $25,000 in sponsorship and advertising.
Using Existing Research
To be successful, a minor league team had to cultivate a loyal fan base. Upon learning of the
Nor’easters’ plan to locate in Springfield, Mae Blesch, sports reporter for The Springfield Daily, wrote:
The team is going to need to quickly bring together two disparate team audiences in the
Springfield community. The first are die-hard sports fans who are tired of driving to Boston or
cheering for other cities’ teams. The second are the families, the little leaguers, the college
students, and the casual fans eager to experience professional ball here in our own hometown.
Blesch’s story also quoted general managers from sports teams in other small cities. Their
consensus was that flexibility, simplicity, professionalism, and fun were the keys to selling the
Nor’easters to Springfield residents. Indeed, one GM noted: “We don’t really sell baseball, we sell
entertainment. From inflatable bounce houses to prize giveaways to kiddie baseball toss contests, we
are in the family fun business.” Blesch noted that (unlike Major League Baseball) teams’ won-lost
records appeared to have little to do with attendance; mediocre teams that provided a high
entertainment value often had very high attendance.
Buckingham had data that appeared to support at least some of Blesch’s findings. National
research conducted in 2005 by the League Sports Association indicated that families with school-age
children were three times as likely to attend a baseball game as retirees or families with pre-schoolers.
The research also showed that only 8% of those surveyed had attended a professional baseball gameiv
that year, though 23% had watched one or more games on television. Of course these findings
applied to both major and minor league sports (the only data available, unfortunately) so
Buckingham knew he had to be careful when using the data to draw conclusions about the minor
league market. He also did not know anything about the underlying methodology of the research but
reasoned that imperfect data was probably better than none.
Buckingham knew that the college student population, which helped to support a number of
college football and basketball (though no baseball) teams in the area, was rarely visible at
professional sporting events, likely due to the high cost of tickets and lack of transportation.
To design his ticket offers, Buckingham first had to find out what local baseball fans wanted and
what they might be willing to pay to attend minor league games in Springfield. Buckingham planned
to analyze the remaining data from the 2005 League Sports Association survey that examined the
characteristics of spectator audiences for all professional league sports (for selected results, see
Exhibit 3).
Nevertheless, Buckingham wanted more than three-year-old survey data and the anecdotal
evidence of a local journalist to guide him; he felt he needed a detailed, methodologically rigorous
survey on which to build Nor’easters’ pricing strategy. “I want to be able to tailor the team’s offerings
based on knowledge of the local market—where the regional audience has been clearly segmented
and analyzed in advance,” said Buckingham. He decided to move forward with a market research
survey: “Without it, we would be flying by the seat of our pants,” he said.
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2510 | The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues
Designing the Survey
At the start of his research project, Buckingham felt his primary research objectives were relatively
simple: he wanted to predict how many people would come to see the Nor’easters and how much to
charge them. He knew he needed to identify the team’s potential audience in terms of demographics
and social behavior—i.e., education, income, household composition, and prior sports attendance. He
wondered what else he needed to know.
Work began on the survey during the second week of January 2008. To prepare, Buckingham
conducted detailed telephone interviews with his counterparts at half a dozen well-established minor
league teams around the northeastern U.S. to better understand their businesses and their marketing
perspectives. He made several observations:
Most of the marketing directors emphasized the need to price seats on par with the
competition—movies, bowling, other sporting events. One MD said, “My city is a lot like
Springfield economically, and these folks have to be very careful with a dollar.”
Another MD told me he derives his ticket revenue from a mix of season tickets, group sales,
and individual ticket sales but couldn’t explain exactly how he’d arrived at the proper
proportioning among those three categories. I realized I’d have to rely on the survey to help
me learn as much as I could about season ticket versus individual ticket buying behavior.
The same MD said that regardless of our findings, we should consider promoting group ticket
sales with special promotions to Little League teams, summer camp programs, family days
out, and the like. He also told me to keep in mind that ticket prices can be kept reasonably low
if we make an effort to secure corporate sponsorships and sell stadium banner ads, for
example.
The very first MD I spoke with emphasized concession sales. He said he makes more than half
his revenue from snacks, souvenirs, and arcade games alone. I asked the other MDs about
concessions; everyone said they were critically important but gave a range of answers as to how
important. It was clear I needed to include a question about concessions in my survey.
Buckingham realized the issues—particularly those involving the concession sales—were very
complex. He was mindful of a gap in his professional background: he had never worked for an
organization that could earn meaningful income from hot dogs, sodas, beer, baseball caps,
bobblehead figures, and team yearbooks—at a 39% profit margin no less. He realized there might be
subtle trade-offs between the pricing of tickets, the structuring of multiple-ticket packages, and the
revenue yield from concessions. He’d need to shed some light on these trade-offs through his
research.
Buckingham also got some information from his boss, Team President and General Manager Bob
Cortez, but getting Cortez to focus on research was difficult. At this point in the team’s development,
Cortez was tied up endlessly in issues of finance, operations, and government relations. He didn’t
have much time to consider Buckingham’s survey—and when he did, he mainly kept advising
Buckingham to “ask them this” and “ask them that.” Buckingham stood firm on this point, warning
Cortez that the survey should contain only questions whose answers would affect actual decisions: "It
is very easy to fall into the game of 'it would be nice to know'," he said, “but it’s counterproductive.”
Accordingly, questions were designed with three criteria in mind: maximum information yield for
management decisions, question clarity for respondents, and ease of data analysis.
4
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Originally, a mail survey had been planned, but this idea was rejected because it would require
six weeks to complete. Instead, Buckingham decided to mail 10,000 postcards that would direct
recipients to a Web site where they could complete a questionnaire. Upon doing so, the respondent
would be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $500 restaurant gift certificate. The online
survey data would be tabulated in real time as the surveys were completed. Buckingham estimated
he would have results within two weeks of his initial mailing. He felt the total survey budget of
$3,800 (which included postcard design, printing, and postage; the online survey service; and the gift
certificate but not the cost of the mailing lists, see below) was very reasonable.
The online questionnaire was pretested three times on friends, relatives, and business associates of
the Nor’easters staff (but not on a sample of the mailing group). Several questions posed initially
were radically changed or rejected as too complicated; for example, one question, which asked how
much respondents would pay for three different types of season tickets (half-season, full-season and
a 5-ticket multi-game package) for seats in one of two different sections of the stadium (grandstand
admission and bleacher seats) was split into two simpler questions.
The pretest results shed light on individuals who might want to purchase multiple tickets for the
same game (for friends and family). These individuals tended to identify themselves as multi-game
package purchasers, on the assumption that a block of 5 tickets for a single game might be offered at
a price similar to that of the 5-ticket multi-game package. As a result, Buckingham believed that, for
planning purposes, the club should assume no more than one block of tickets per individual.
Developing the Sample
By the beginning of February 2008, Buckingham had completed the questionnaire design. He had
identified two main categories of information to examine: price sensitivity and sports attendance
patterns. Questions on these categories, plus others on seat location, concessions, and personal
background of respondents, composed the final version of the questionnaire.
The mailing list for the postcard was drawn from two sources. A sample of 5,000 names was taken
from Springfield census tracts of households with income above the poverty level. These names were
supplied by a broker for a fee of $90 per thousand names. Another 5,000 names were obtained from
the mailing lists of four sports-related organizations in Springfield, each of which had been asked to
supply a random sample of names from its database: minor league hockey and college football
individual and season ticket buyers and parents of Little League baseball and softball players. The list
costs ranged from $125 to $130 per thousand names.
In describing Nor’easters’ potential fan base, Buckingham said: "Our fans can be anybody who
can enjoy a good ball game, and I think that means fans can come from any class, any gender, and
any part of town." Buckingham saw no contradiction between this definition of a fan base and the
survey sample frame. “The goal of the survey is to identify people who would respond and subscribe
without ever having seen a Nor’easters game,” he explained.
The postcards inviting survey participation were mailed February 12, 2008. Within a week, 510
Internet responses had been received; another 75 people without access to the Internet called the tollfree number listed on the postcard to complete their survey via telephone. Approximately 4% of the
postcards were returned to Buckingham as undeliverable. Ultimately, 625 responses were tabulated.
Although there were variations in the response rates for the census tract mailing list and those for
the sports organization lists (see Exhibit 4 for response rates by list), subsequent analysis showed no
significant differences in the nature of the responses given by census tract versus sports organization
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2510 | The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues
respondents. Buckingham was also pleased to learn that the sample respondent characteristics were
fairly representative of the Springfield market. Although the sample was more heavily weighted
toward households with children under 18 years of age (64%) than toward the population as a whole
(60%) he believed this was to be expected, since the mailing contained two lists of known parents of
young children.
Analyzing the Results
After the survey results were tabulated (see Exhibit 5 for survey questions shown with percentage
response distributions), Buckingham constructed a pricing matrix; along the top were columns for the
possible ticket prices, and down the side were rows for each type of ticket offer (see Exhibit 6).
Then he used the survey data to calculate the optimal prices and placed them in the chart. As
Buckingham explained, “We need to figure out optimal pricing assuming we offer fans the ability to
buy full-season, half-season, and 5-ticket packages as well as individual tickets.” He continued, “We
know our costs for the entire season and management expects me to sell enough tickets and
concessions product to at least break even.”
Buckingham wanted to make sure he didn’t price the tickets too low and leave money on the
table. “Our prices should be high enough so that anyone who can and will pay a lot to attend will do
so. At the same time, anyone who really wants to come shouldn’t be put off by what they perceive as
too-high prices.” Buckingham felt it was important to have a top ticket price high enough to
distinguish the Nor’easters from the college teams but low enough to lure fans away from driving to
Boston. The local colleges charged between $5 and $6 per adult and $3 per child for general
admission tickets. The region’s minor league hockey and baseball teams charged between $6 and (at
AAA level) $26 per single ticket, depending upon the location of the seat. Deep discounts—40% or
more—were offered on season tickets.
The major league teams had already announced their 2008 season pricing: single seats for Boston
Red Sox games ranged from $12 for a limited number of upper bleacher seats to $325 for dugout box
seats; fans could not even purchase season tickets as they were sold out years in advance.
Buckingham would keep all this data in mind as he set Nor’easters’ prices.
For the purpose of making the concession sales calculations easier, Buckingham would have liked
to assume that everyone who purchased a ticket would show up for the game, but on this point Bob
Cortez recommended caution. “We’re always going to have some percentage of no-shows on
advanced sale tickets,” he said. Buckingham and Cortez agreed that for individual tickets—which
were almost always purchased on the day of a game—they would assume 100% attendance but that
for the 5-game, 20-game season, and 38-game season packages, an attendance drop to 97%, 95%, and
90%, respectively, was a logical expectation—as long as ticket prices were reasonable.
Buckingham strived to keep in mind that his real goal was to maximize both ticket income and
attendance: “We know that if we price too low, we inadvertently encourage a high no-show rate—
after all, skipping a game you’ve paid only a couple of bucks for is no big deal even to fans of limited
means. But no-shows can’t buy hot dogs or baseball caps.” Buckingham used the survey data to
calculate likely “per seat” concession revenue. “If we trust the survey results, I think we’ll bring in
good revenue from concessions. That result is not inconsistent with the information other Class A
marketing directors gave me.” Buckingham knew that once he determined the ticket and concession
revenue, he would recognize whether achieving breakeven was a reasonable objective. With a
mixture of anticipation and apprehension, he began to click through the survey results screens.
6
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There was a knock on the door frame of Buckingham’s cubicle. Cortez said, “Hey, Larry, when are
you going to show me those sketches of possible team logos you commissioned? Jimmy’s eager to see
them.” Buckingham realized that he’d been so focused on his survey—and its consequences for the
Nor’easters—that he’d forgotten to open the express-mail package he’d received from the artist that
morning. Cortez quipped, “Hey, if we don’t like what the artist has done, maybe we can pick up the
name Falcons. Birds always generate good logos, and it looks like our hockey-playing friends down
the street might not need theirs any more.”
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2510 | The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues
Exhibit 1
Estimated annual operating expenses, Springfield Nor’easters
Fixed expenses
Players' salaries
Bats and balls
Uniforms
League dues
Staff salaries
Office expenses
Team travel
Market research & mailing lists
Advertising, sales, and marketing
Total fixed expenses
$887,000 a
$22,500a
$8,000
$175,000
$124,000
$110,000
$455,000
$4,879
$175,000
$1,961,379
a These two expense categories are paid for by the major league team with
which the Nor’easters are affiliated.
8
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Exhibit 2 Nor’easters Stadium
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2510 | The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues
Exhibit 3 Selected findings from League Sports Association survey, 2005
A. Total Percent Exposed During Past Year by Education
College graduate
Some college
High school graduate
Some high school
Baseball
Football
Basketball
Hockey
7
12
23
39
5
5
14
26
2
2
6
11
2
2
7
13
B. Income Composition of Audiences of Four Professional Sports
Baseball
$75,000 and over
$45,000 to $74,999
$22,500 to $44,999
Up to $22,499
13%
40
33
14
100%
Football
Basketball
Hockey
12%
37
34
17
100%
15%
34
32
19
100%
20%
32
30
18
100%
C. Educational Composition of Audiences of Four Professional Sports
College graduate
Some college
High school graduate
Some high school
Baseball
Football
Basketball
Hockey
18%
26
23
33
100%
21%
18
24
37
100%
20%
18
24
38
100%
18%
16
26
40
100%
Source: League Sports Association.
Exhibit 4 Response rate by list for postcard mailing
Mail Qty
List Cost, per
thousand
names
Springfield residents, census tract
5,000
$90
250
5.2%
Minor league hockey team, individual,
and season ticket buyers
2,871
$125
97
6.1%
College football individual and season
ticket buyers
1,380
$125
41
7.6%
Parents of little league baseball players,
2007-08 season
441
$130
20
17.3%
Parents of girls softball players, 2007-08
season
308
$130
12
11.4%
List Source
Total
10,000
Undeliverables
Net
Responsea
420
a Net response is response expressed as a percentage of questionnaires completed less undeliverable postcards.
10
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Exhibit 5 Survey Questionnaire and Response Distributions
Question
Response
1. Do you consider yourself a baseball fan?
Yes
38%
No
60%
Not sure
2%
2. In the past year, have you attended a professional baseball
game?
28%
72%
0%
Never
1-2 times
76%
20%
1%
3%
0
83%
14%
1%
2%
0%
79%
17%
2%
2%
0%
Yes
No
23%
77%
3. During the past two or three years, how often have you
attended a major-league game?
4. During the past two or three years, how often have you
attended a minor-league game?
5. During the past two or three years, how often have you
attended a college game?
6. Have you ever purchased a season ticket for a sporting event?
3-4 times 5 or more times Not sure
7. If a minor league baseball team came to Springfield, is it likely you would (select one):
Not attend at all
61%
Probably attend just one game
21%
Probably subscribe to a 5-game package
11%
Probably subscribe to a 20-game half season
5%
Probably subscribe to a 38-game full season
2%
Less than $4
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
0%
2%
5%
13%
31%
27%
22%
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
2%
3%
19%
36%
34%
5%
7%
23%
28%
25%
15%
1%
26%
20%
14%
11%
10%
1%
56-65+
19%
8. If you were to attend one game, what would you be willing to
pay?
Less than $4
9. If you were to purchase a multi-game package of 5 tickets,
what would you be willing to payper game?
1%
10. If you were to purchase a half-season ticket for 20 games,
what would you be willing to payper game?
1%
11. If you were to purchase a full-season ticket for 38 games, what
would you be willing to payper game?
18%
nothing
more
12. What would you be willing to pay, per game, for a grandstand 24%
seat over and above the cost of a bleacher seat?
Nothing
13. How much do you expect to spend on snacks, souvenirs and
arcade games, per person, for each game you attend?
14. What is your age?
15. Are you:
16. How many children, ages 5-16, live with you?
8%
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Less than
$5
11%
18 or under
1%
19-25
7.00%
Female
56%
Male
44%
None
34%
Some high
school
$6-$10
50% more
9%
$11-15
45%
36%
26-35
30%
36-45
21%
46-55
19%
One
38%
Two
18%
Three
7%
Four
2%
High
school
Some
college
College degree
28
31
13
Up to
$22,499
$22,500$44,999
$45,000$74,900
$75,000 and
over
18%
36%
40%
6%
17. What is the last grade in school or college that you completed? 28
18. For statistical purposes only, which of the following broad
categories represents your household's annual income?
10% more 25% more
48%
19%
More than 4
1%
11
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2510 | The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues
Exhibit 6 Buckingham’s pricing matrix worksheet
$ per ticket
Ticket Type
Less
than $4
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
Single ticket
5-game ticket
20-game half-season
38-game season
12
BRIEFCASES | HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
This document is authorized for use only by Ankur Gupta in Marketing Management Summer IIG 18 taught by Stephanie Thacker, University of the Cumberlands from Jun 2018 to Dec 2018.
For the exclusive use of A. Gupta, 2018.
The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues | 2510
Endnotes
i Paul
N. Foster, et. al., “A demographic and economic analysis of the city of Springfield,” Regional
Information Center, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, September 2006, available
http://www.springfieldcityhall.com/planning/fileadmin/Planning_files/Springfield_Market_Study_2006.pdf,
accessed 18 April 2008.
ii 2006 American Community Survey, Springfield, Massachusetts, U. S. Census Bureau,
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_count
y=springfield&_cityTown=springfield&_state=04000US25&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010,
accessed 18 April 2008.
iii Paul N. Foster, et. al., “A demographic and economic analysis of the city of Springfield,” Regional
Information Center, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, September 2006, available
http://www.springfieldcityhall.com/planning/fileadmin/Planning_files/Springfield_Market_Study_2006.pdf,
accessed 18 April 2008.
iv
Major or minor league, within 2 hours’ driving distance.
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL | BRIEFCASES
13
This document is authorized for use only by Ankur Gupta in Marketing Management Summer IIG 18 taught by Stephanie Thacker, University of the Cumberlands from Jun 2018 to Dec 2018.
BUOL 533
1
WEEK 6 - Review this week's case, The Springfield Nor’easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor
Leagues
This case raises important issues in market research and service pricing. A Class A minor league
baseball team has started up in Springfield, Massachusetts and – a year-and-a-half in advance of the first
game – is planning its first season. The game dates have already been determined, but pricing decisions
remain. Management is evaluating the findings of a detailed survey of potential season and single-game
ticket buyers, hoping to use the resulting insights to help it price tickets and design season ticket
packages. But the team marketing director’s conceptualization of his key concerns becomes increasingly
complex as he considers the intricacies of ticket pricing and ancillary issues such as concessions.
After your analysis of the case, prepare a response to the following questions:
1) Evaluate the research survey undertaken by the League Sports Association and by Larry Buckingham,
Nor’easters’ marketing director. Consider each step in the process that led to the findings of the survey.
2) What do you consider to be the key findings of the research survey? Comment on what Buckingham
learned about a prospective customer profile, pricing, and single-ticket versus season-ticket packages.
3) What considerations should the Nor’easters take into account in establishing a pricing policy?
4) Design a ticket pricing plan for the Nor’easters’ first season. Be very specific, and be prepared to
explain the assumptions – especially assumptions of cause and effect – that underlie your strategy.
Should Buckingham offer more than one type of season package? How, if at all, should ticket pricing
vary by package type? How, if at all, can Buckingham take advantage of consumer interest in grandstand
seating?
5) Using the pricing plan you have designed and given Buckingham’s assumptions about concession
sales, will the team reach breakeven in the first year? If not, what options does Buckingham have to
reach his target?
In your response to these questions, be as thorough as possible. In case analysis, you always want to
support your answers with a cited source. In addition, utilize material from the textbook readings in your
response.
Post your 5+ page (double-spaced) response to these questions by Saturday at 11:55 p.m. Before
Monday at 8:00 a.m. of the next week, review the postings of classmates and post a meaningful comment
or question (150 words minimum) to two (2) classmates.
BUOL 533 - Marketing Management
Your Name Here
BUOL 533
University of Cumberlands
Week Six – The Springfield Nor’Easters Case Paper
2
BUOL 533
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Introduction
Start your paper here. An introduction paragraph is a good idea. It should state the
TOPIC of your paper and provide a roadmap for the reader. Indent five spaces the first sentence
in each paragraph.
Evaluation of Survey – Key Learnings
Evaluate the research survey undertaken by the League Sports Association and by Larry
Buckingham, Nor’easters’ marketing director. Consider each step in the process that led to the
findings of the survey. What do you consider to be the key findings of the research survey?
Buckingham Learnings
Indent first sentence in each paragraph five spaces. Comment on what Buckingham learned
about a prospective customer profile, pricing, and single-ticket versus season-ticket packages.
Considerations for Pricing Policy
Indent first sentence in each paragraph five spaces. Cite your sources and recap in APA
format in the reference page. What considerations should the Nor’easters take into account in
establishing a pricing policy?
Ticket Pricing Plan
Indent first sentence in each paragraph five spaces. Cite your sources and recap in APA
format in the reference page. Design a ticket pricing plan for the Nor’easters’ first season. Be very
specific, and be prepared to explain the assumptions – especially assumptions of cause and effect –
that underlie your strategy. Should Buckingham offer more than one type of season package?
How, if at all, should ticket pricing vary by package type? How, if at all, can Buckingham take
advantage of consumer interest in grandstand seating?
Breakeven in First Year?
BUOL 533
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Indent first sentence in each paragraph five spaces. Cite your sources and recap in APA
format in the reference page. Using the pricing plan you have designed and given Buckingham’s
assumptions about concession sales, will the team reach breakeven in the first year? If not, what
options does Buckingham have to reach his target?
Conclusion
Your final paragraph should provide a summary of your paper. This reminds the reader of
where you took them on your road trip. It is similar to reviewing your photographs after a
vacation. There should be no new information included in the conclusion. Make sure you have
FIVE pages minimum. The page count is only from the Introduction to Conclusion. Do not add
any extra blank lines in your paper – deliver a tight double-spaced paper using the spacing
provided in this template. No visuals allowed.
BUOL 533
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References
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). The Framework for Marketing Management (6th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson Education.
Remove the above IF you do not cite it within your paper