by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Suns are counting down the days until the first pitch of the 2008 Southern League baseball season.
As of Monday, the sign on the wall in the front office read “83 days” until the Suns host the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx on April 3 in the first game of a five-game home stand.
While the manager, coaches and players measure the minor league baseball season from the first week of April to the league playoffs in September, for the people who sell the tickets for the Suns’ 70 home games, the season is a year-round effort.
“We have our ticket information for the following season ready by August, so we can distribute it to the fans,” said Director of Ticket Operations Jane Carol Bunting.
Group sales is a major part of the team’s ticket sales game plan. According to Director of Group Sales Meghan Clark, 30 percent of the fans who attend Suns games are part of a corporate, civic or private group. The groups come in all descriptions and sizes.
“We have hosted groups of as many as 1,000 people, and last season we booked one of the suites for a party of four people,” she said.
Bunting added that 20 percent of the fans in the stands are season-ticket holders, which means only half of the Suns fans who attend games walk up to the box office and buy single-game tickets.
Last season, 396,007 fans went through the turnstiles at the Baseball Grounds, the most attendance recorded by any Southern league team.
The Baseball Grounds has 12 luxury suites. While seven are owned, five are available to any group of 20-25 people who would like the ultimate baseball experience, said Clark.
A new suite is available this year, and it’s a big one. The basic package includes the suite and 50 tickets for $1,500. Food and beverages are extra, and any other merchandise available at the Baseball Grounds can be added to a package.
“A lot of people want to add our soft-serve ice cream to their menu,” said Clark. “We’ve even had some groups who went home with a souvenir after the game.”
In addition to corporate outings, Suns group sales have also included wedding receptions and birthday and bachelor parties.
“We had a couple who got married at Old St. Andrews Church and then they walked over here for the reception,” said Clark.
Group sales depend partly on technology and partly on an across-the-board effort for its success, said Clark.
“We maintain a database with about 8,000 names. It’s everything from previous groups to season ticket holders to the fans who enter our trivia contests at the games. We also do direct mail to about 30,000 addresses each season.
“There are eight people officially on the group sales staff, but everybody who works here helps sell groups. It’s an easy product to sell because basically, what we are selling is fun.”