Time to Rise and Shine

Spring Sports Activities Usher in a New Season of Sales

Spring is in the Air, and so is opportunity for ambitious bar owners to turn activity into an asset. With the winter doldrums fading away, it’s prime time to promote everything outdoors to guests. Whether it’s volleyball, softball/baseball leagues, horseshoes, boat regattas or fishing tournaments, spring sports offer up refreshing revenue.
    So, break out the scoreboards and ice down the beverages. It may take some sweat on you and your staff’s part to iron out all the details of your upcoming events, but doing so — and getting patrons to break a sweat, in turn — will result in clean profits. Isn’t that what the season is all about?  Consider the following ideas for promotions you can present to guests at your venue, and enjoy the extra sales as well as the sunshine.

Squeeze Extra Profits From the Spring With Active Promotions

Whether you are an operator looking to cash in with baseball games on the big screen or you are actively trying to make your patrons break a sweat with activity, spring sports promotions mean money. They bring in patrons who participate, and they bring in fans, friends and family who come just to watch. Appealing to the entire target audience, creative spring sports promotions are a great offense for profit.

Sand in Wisconsin
    The Tracks in Milwaukee opened in 1969 as an ordinary bar, but the progression into volleyball tournaments happened rapidly.
    “We began with one volleyball court,” Owner Pete Wolbersen says. “It grew so much we bought the adjacent property.”
     Adding two more courts and a 100-person patio, The Tracks became a favorite hangout for the locals in Milwaukee. Varying from season to season, Wolbersen says they usually sign up around 100 teams. The fee is around $235 for a team, and even with the large numbers, the staff has no problem handling the specifics. In fact, the staff signs up as a team most seasons. In the end, the winners are awarded with free T-shirts and/or a free pitcher of beer. Starting a serious sports commitment on-premise can seem daunting, but Wolbersen says it is easier if you “make sure your staff is really involved.”

Bait in Minnesota
    Try aligning your outside sports promotions with the natural landscape around your establishment. Owner and Entrepreneur Woody Woods has found success in combining his venue F R Woody’s Pub in Rainer, Minn., with his other business Woody’s Fairly Reliable Guide Service. He keeps patrons happy with daily fishing excursions.
    “People usually have a reservation to go fishing, but sometimes it is spur of the moment with our walk-in, bar business,” he says.
    A few years ago, Woods began the annual Toilet Bowl Cup and Regatta. Held in August, this sailboat race begins at the pub, where one crewmember is required to pound a shot before running down to join his crew onboard.
    The race got its name from the signature painted toilet bowl that goes, filled with Champagne, to the winner.
    Overall, Woods says his tip is no free drinks. “When we have 20 people, we have a crowd,” he says of his small pub. “You can’t give away your bar or you are going to go broke. We have a personal type of bar, and we are not afraid to charge a fair price.”

Sneakers in South Carolina
    Marathons are another great excuse to open the bar early. Chris Condon, co-owner of Big John’s Tavern in Charleston, S.C., used to run the city’s Cooper River Bridge Run the first Saturday in April every year. These days, Condon doesn’t have the time to run the 10k due to the amount of patrons at Big John’s. With an average of 30,000 participating, the Cooper River Bridge Run is a major, thirst-inducing event.
    “I decided it would be neat to open for Bloody’s and Mimosas,” Condon says. For the last five years, Big John’s Tavern has been at maximum capacity. So, what is Condon’s greatest tip for advertising?
    “Right before the crowds get too big, I sneak on over and put flyers for my bar in the porta-lets,” he says. NCB

    Baseball. They call it the All-American Game and our national Pastime — and for good reason. There’s not much that makes one happier to be American than an afternoon at the ballpark complete with cold draft beers, deliciously unhealthy food and great friends. Wait. How is that different than an afternoon at the bar? The similarities are striking. So, catch the fever and take advantage of the fact that everything great about baseball can be what’s great about your bar. Build a bar promotion around baseball and, well, I think you know exactly what happens “if you build it.”

Aim for the Fence 
    One of the best baseball viewing experiences around happens at the Sports Corner in Chicago, located next to Wrigley Field across from the Harry Carey statue. When it comes to watching baseball at a bar, this is for the purists. General Manager Brad Vancil describes it as “the ‘Cheers’ of the neighborhood — just a friendly, great place.”
    Whether you’re celebrating a Cubs win or cheering for a division rival to lose, Sports Corner is the place to be all summer. Vancil says, “Out of all the bars by Wrigley Field, Sports Corner has been here the longest. Business is great in the summer, but also maintains a loyal following in the off-season. It’s set up like an old tavern with big, open windows, which is a perfect indoor viewing experience, but the patio along Sheffield Avenue is the biggest draw.” Also, new for next season will be access to the rooftop level to watch the games. One of the key’s to the Sports Corner’s increased baseball- related sales, besides tapping into the Wrigley Field faithful, is their outreach to the outlying community with advertising in the local paper.

Card ‘Em 
    Let’s face it. Baseball in your bar may not be a home run for added promotional sales. So, promote yourself as the authority. You can also create your own bar teams for people who want to play and make a few friends. Not everyone has a crew of friends large enough to start a team, and trying to create one out of your co-workers is hit or miss and can be downright pathetic. (Anyone who saw the episode of “The Office” where they try to put together a basketball team knows what I’m talking about.) 
    A creative incentive to get people to sign up is to create personalized baseball cards for everyone in the league. Some people will sign up just to get immortalized with their own baseball card. A digital camera and a few props along with some minor skills in Photoshop and you can produce some really cool stuff at Kinko’s. Or, for the technically inept, you can order them online.

Promotions On Deck
    When running a baseball promotion, recreate the excitement of the ballpark and offer up free popcorn, pretzels and peanuts. Have specials on American classics such as hamburgers, hot dogs and apple pie. Encourage the staff to wear baseball caps and uniforms. Decorate your bar with various baseball memorabilia. Have a baseball trivia contest with winners entered into a raffle to win tickets to a local game. Other ideas for a successful baseball promo include the following:

•   Batter Up: Add fried foods such as wings to your “Baseball Menu.” They’re an easy tie-in and a perfect sports-viewing dish. •   Name the post game celebration “Extra Innings” and keep the party going.
•   Offer “Plate” specials for First Base, 2nd, 3rd, and Home. Give out baseball cards to anyone that orders the “home run” special.
•   Home Plate: Offer one signature dish at a discount to the softball teams that call your bar home with their own “Home Plate.”
•   Pair up with your local jewelry store for a “Baseball Diamond” giveaway raffle. This will help bring out the wives and girlfriends.
•   Play Baseball Bingo during games, professional or not. Hand out bingo cards with various baseball-related events with prizes for winners. NCB

    "A Sporting Chance" was written by Jenny Adams. Adams is an Associate Editor for Nightclub & Bar Magazine and can be reached at .
    "Diamonds are Forever" was written by Jason Stone. Stone is the premier account manager for MarkeTeam Inc., a Mission Viejo, Calif.-based sales, promotion and marketing agency. For more information, visit marketeaminc.com.