I once went to a “Massacre at Central High” - “Mansion of the Doomed” double feature at the rundone Newark Drive-In (You Can See It From The Jersey Turnpike!)...when a mega riot broke out. Go figure.
The Milwaukee Brewers baseball club held a brainstorming session a while back to see what would happen if movies were linked with a baseball venue. They came up with Miller Park Movies. In early June, the Brewers unveiled drive-in movies in the parking lots of Miller Park. With any luck, this might start a trend for the club, and develop a following for movie nights in the future, with two nights tentatively set for August.
“Teams around the League have been attempting to do something like this over the years,” notes Jason Hartlund, VP of Brewers Enterprises, who oversees all non-baseball-related revenue for the team. He says he’s surprised drive-in movies haven’t been shown previously at another Major League park. “Some franchises don’t have the physical ability to do this kind of thing because of small parking lots,” he reflects. “It’s predicated on the real estate around the park, and the climate.”
...Owens believes pairing movies with baseball is a good move. He says the Brewers are smart to take a page out of the Minor League book. “The Brewers understand the idea of engaging the community,” Owens states. “It’s about developing relationships with your fan base. The fans will come back and ask: What else have you got?”
Regardless of how many times you hear about how bad our economy might be, it’s a fact every business must take into consideration. “At one of our Fan Fest events, we showed Shrek on the pitcher’s mound,” Owens recalls. “It was a huge hit.”
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I agree with all of the above, and add the note that, should the Jays decide to do this, I would be strongly tempted to attend.
Of course he was a huge hit, that's the guy who carried them to the playoffs last year.
Exactly what I was thinking.
My son and I watched Angels in the Outfield during a postgame, overnight camping trip at Victory Field. It was pretty cool.
Now, showing movies on the jumbo-tron with people sitting on the field, THAT would be cool.
Although, probably never happen.
That was the first thing I thought when I saw the headline. Clubs could probably make a lot of money in the winter months doing something like that; I know I'd pay a premium to sit in the outfield and drink a beer while watching a movie.
There's a small problem with that particular strategy, at least in 1/2 of the ballparks.
At Victory Field, we did watch the movie game on the Jumbotron, but rains earlier in the day kept us from being able to watch and pitch our tents in the OF grass (or so we were told).
On a couple occasions, the Jays have done a Father's Day event where they let people camp out on the field overnight, and show a movie on the Jumbotron. Given the nature of the Rogers Centre, it's probably a slightly different experience than most other parks.
Petco Park would be perfect for this, what with the big "Park in the Park" already there, with a big JumboTron type screen.
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