John Avenson bringing the heat

Way to go Saints – that was amazing!

By ice and by air

The Saint Paul Saints have always been the masters of promotion. When they posted a link to a “Media Member for the Day” event, I grabbed the August 27th game against the Chicago Dogs and patiently waited. With only a handful of regular season games left, tonight was the night. I walked across the street from our house and picked up my pass from the box office, entered the VIP/Media entrance on Broadway and walked up to my perch behind home plate.

Working in an NFL stadium, our press box is only in use ten days a year (unless there is a Minneapolis Miracle). The Saints play fifty home games in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, plus the potential for best-of-five divisional and championship match-ups. With seven games left in the 2019 season, the Saints have a record of 59-34 and are 1.5 games back of Fargo-Moorhead, who clinched a playoff spot last night.

If they make the post-season, this will be the second year in a row. We went to all of the playoff games last year and were really surprised at how few people attended. The Saints lead the league in regular season attendance – in fact, they have double the attendance of the next closest team this year (363,109 versus 167,131 for Winnipeg). CHS Field (built in 2015 for $64.7 million by Ryan Companies) officially holds 7,210 fans, but the Saints average 8,069 people per game. My guess is that the huge corporate outing business that drives attendance during the year just isn’t there for the playoff games. If the Saints do make it to back-to-back playoffs, the dates this year would be:

• Divisional Playoff Games: 9/4, 9/5, 9/7 (9/8 & 9/9, if necessary)
• Championship Games: 9/11, 9/12, 9/14 (9/15 & 9/16, if necessary)

The division winner gets to choose which games they will host, with one team hosting the first two games and the other team hosting Game 3, as well as the final two games if they end up being needed.

So how does this press box compare to ours? The Vikings have spaces for 175 people in the main seating area and I would say you could squeeze in about six people at CHS. We both have high-speed WiFi and wired data ports available, a friendly press box announcer that reports stats as they happen and complimentary food and beverages. The press box at CHS sits between the TV broadcast booth on one side and the event production booth on the other. Of course, this is also where the peanuts get thrown down during the seventh inning stretch (looking forward to that).

Nothing against the Saints, but they really get caught up in the overall decline of local journalism. I can understand no Star Tribune or TV representation, but where is the Pioneer Press? Aside from the occasional Shooter mention, I don’t think you can even find a box score in the hometown paper. John Shipley did write a story during the All-Star festivities, but that was likely just because Joe Mauer and a bunch of Vikings played in the charity softball game.

Aside from that issue, the Saints definitely produce a great product in the crowded Twin Cities sports market. As a guy who grew up in Saint Paul going to games at Midway Stadium, the organization will always hold a special place in the history of the city. The new City of Baseball museum along the third base line is really well done and is a great addition to the building. CHS Field truly is a beautiful facility and GM Derek Sharrer runs a great operation.

Thanks for letting me visit!

They should all count

That was quite a weekend, though

Hopefully they do better than the Twins today

So long, X Games

Spin you right round, baby, right round

Four in a row + indoor vert

While I worked for a number of years in the casino business, my property never offered sports betting. As it now spreads across the United States, it is starting to make an impact with my current industry, professional sports venue management. I haven’t done a lot of research on this topic, but I feel like both sides aren’t fully prepared for all the potential side effects of a much larger pool of bettors.

Minnesota has always had a unique gaming environment among states and the various types of tribal compacts, so I don’t envision any immediate changes in the landscape. As it sweeps across the country, though, I imagine Minnesota will join at some point – too much money is involved to completely sit out. Minnesota tribes have understandably been reluctant to reopen the gaming agreements, but most of the larger ones already have ties to professional sports in one form or another.

As a technical venue manager, I’m curious as to what additional demands will be made on wireless networks, digital signage, cyber security and real-time statistical data feeds if sports betting is approved here. Not to mention physical changes to buildings if things like betting windows were ever to be added. I can easily imagine fans having sports betting apps on their phones, placing bets in their seats during a game and wanting to cash out winners immediately.

Lastly, I had another thought while watching the Twins lose their epic battle with the Yankees the other night. If human referees and umpires are still used in all leagues (which is likely), what extra security measures will be needed when they make bad calls? Will it influence how they make calls in the first place? It’s already a challenging environment with rowdy fans who have had too much to drink…

XGMN19 – now with e-sports

Really didn’t know that is so close to Staples Center

This market is so not like the others

Two nights of All Stars, now two nights to start the second half

So much CHS Field time this week

Now we just need a win over Oakland

https://www.tmz.com/2019/07/17/pete-alonso-home-run-minnesota-474-feet-new-york-mets-mlb/

Weirdest rain delay ever

Fun night + Loons victory 1-0

That was some good TV sportsball

From the handshake line to the booing of Bettman and the handoff of the trophy

http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/26740441/one-year-legal-us-sports-betting-learned

Congrats to Yagya and Atomic Data on some very smart work

…but got to ride the whole river path today (before the rain)

I’m so out of shape – this month should help a lot

Part I – protect the brain

…don’t come home

Of course it needs to snow again

Yup, I’m still here (no trains until 4:13am)

…ends here.

Vikings stadium seamlessly transitions to basketball hub

Bravo, Timberwolves

TRUTH

IT Command will be the place to be the next three days

You never know what will happen at Target Center these days

Happy Baseball Opener everyone!

We are all just a bunch of meat sacks…

Every Minnesota team should do that for every game

Timberwolves vs. Golden State @ Target Center

I finally own a green hat to wear once a year

…and the countdown is on

Return to this game will be a while, unfortunately

In or out?

Now that Monster Jam is over, it’s full on Final Four

What a franchise, eh?

Monster Jam returns Saturday

I thought I felt a little déjà vu

Like the surface charge space, though

Before basketball – not lit, after basketball – lit

The place looked great – nicely done

Good luck to Justin and his team at tonight’s Timberwolves home opener against Cleveland

The huntin’ time has arrived…

Congrats to Kaitlyn (50 miles) and all the other amazing Superior fall trail racers

Don’t think I saw a Vikings game, but saw lots of Twins there

Those nets are huge

Hope they play better than last night

Highest quarter pipe jump ever @ X Games

X Games is such a cool event

July will be busy

Hope to hear lots of Oasis (and Rhymesayers)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-05-03/the-gambler-who-cracked-the-horse-racing-code

Just a whole lotta dirt and gas fumes

The big staff sale finally made it reasonable

Miss you, Mom ❤️

Step 1: open building. Step 2: host Super Bowl LII

First annual Minnesota Sports Awards, Target Center

MSHSL State Soccer Championship Day ⚽️