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It is hard to believe that Opening Day is less than one week away. I must say the Operations Interns & their respective managers have really done a nice job getting everything ready seemingly earlier than usual, even with the number of ballpark improvements increasing at a high-rate this year. We hope ballpark improvements have a positive correlation with our fans' overall satisfaction upon visiting the "Duck Pond" during the summer as they give you experiences you never thought you'd be able to enjoy while watching a baseball game.
I mean, we're installing a beach (yes, a beach) just outside of the left-field corner to serve as just another means of enjoyment for kids during games when they're not bouncing in "Big Maynard," trying to show up dad at the speed pitch, or hitting the "floating" baseball at the t-ball machine.
On top of that, if you can text (or parents; have your kids teach you) and find yourself hungry at the ballpark, you'll love another addition to 2009: the ability to text your orders to Maynard's from any location in the ballpark & only have to show up once your order is ready. Why should you have to miss any part of the game while waiting for your food? Simply text your order (according to codes posted in the ballpark) to 608.622.EATS (3287) and we'll respond back with an approximate wait time, which averages less than 15 min. Once you've paid for your food at the window, it's time to enjoy the freshest and biggest portions in all of the park. Eat up!
Moving to the Great Dane Duck Blind, the addition of 200 actual seats should put a smile on a lot of people's faces. The key three words we keep stressing is that "capacity is unaffected" because it's important to note that we're not just adding more seating to allow more people to experience the Duck Blind. This area is constantly evolving, and your suggestions are always helpful. If you're able to grab a spot in the field-level addition, you're going to want to bring a glove because it feels like you're standing behind the first baseman.
Switching gears, about 15 players reported today, which further means that the baseball season is upon us. It's always fun to see the guys' first reactions when they step onto this field for the first time. In talking to them year after year, the cool thing they're most excited about is usually playing in front of 6,000-plus fans and the electricity that surrounds Mallards baseball. To be honest, they could care less about the team's 2004 Northwoods League Championship, or how this team has been ultra-competitive the past 4 seasons. They want to experience minor league baseball in a major league playoff type atmosphere. And yet, we're neither of those things.
This Wednesday, the Mallards will host the Swedish National Baseball Team at 6:05 p.m. at the Duck Pond. It'll be interesting to see how their style and the American style of baseball are both alike and yet different. We hope to see you out there...and if not, remember, Opening Day is THIS Monday against the Rochester Honkers. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.! Great seats are still available too I'm hearing.
Here's to a great season! And by the way, beginning in mid-June, we're going to turn Maynard's Musings over to the interns to get their thoughts on working for the Mallards and share a story or two. Consider it to be a glimpse into a facet of the team that is certainly underrated at times.
The preparation for every Mallards season always presents a unique set of challenges. Those challenges are exactly why I love my job so much, no matter how much we plan or dream, we never quite know what obstacles may be right around the corner. The main challenge as we prepared for 2009 was pretty easy to identify: the economy. We decided to do what we do best, stay positive. The biggest thing I worried about was how a potential drop in support from our sponsors would impact our ability to put on as entertaining of a show as possible. From Bobble-Heads & Fireworks, to Celebrity appearances & ballpark improvements, none of it happens without the support of our sponsors. As we planned our events for 2009, we set the bar high: a Bobble-Head series for the first time, more ballpark renovations, Paul Molitor at the Alumni Game & more. To dream these ideas up was easy; the prospect of finding someone to pay for them to actually happen was scarier than ever.
Well, I’m happy to report that our sponsor support for 2009 is better than ever. Because of that support we’ve been able to assemble, in my opinion, the best promotional schedule in all of baseball. This story isn’t really about the specifics of what the promotions or ballpark improvements are, it is about the people that make these things happen – our sponsors. In these difficult times the businesses & fans that step up to the plate every year to support us deserve as much recognition & thanks as possible. I like to think that the importance of community is becoming even stronger all the time & that the Mallards have become an important part of that community. Our sponsors see value in not just connecting their brand with ours, but also in being a part of the unique & vast community of Mallards fans that has developed over the years.
So, what does this all mean for our fans? Well, beyond hopefully just having a great time at the park again this summer, I’d like to ask just one more thing. Don’t forget the people that make these summer nights as entertaining & comfortable & affordable as they are. Next time you are going out to eat stop by the Great Dane, not just because they offer great food, but because they are a vital part of making the Mallards happen. Or remember that Charter loves the Mallards next time you are thinking about switching cable providers. Stop out & say “hi” to Jerry over at Stoddard’s Market in Cottage Grove next time you need some Mallards-style Brats. Say “thanks” to your American Family Insurance agent for their support, pull into Stop-N-Go next time you have a choice to fill up your gas tank. Union Cab, Duluth Trading Co., Verizon, Jay Hazen Dentistry, Pepsi, Schoep’s, West Bend Insurance, Budweiser…the list goes on & on. These businesses & their employees are not just a part of the same community that we all care so much about, they are actively investing in making sure you have nothing less than a great time at the Duck Pond every night.
Thanks again for your support as we get ready for what is sure to be the most exciting summer of baseball Madison has ever seen & I look forward to seeing you around town supporting Mallards sponsors for years to come!
It’s time for another guest blogger to grace the pages of Maynard’s Musings. I’m Michael Schroeder, and I was the media relations intern for the Mallards last summer. I’m guessing the hard-working front office staff needed to get some more things done around the ballpark as Opening Day approaches, so they went to the bullpen for today’s Musing.
Last summer in Madison was probably the most fun summer of my whole life. You might think that having about five days off the whole summer and working 12-15 hour days sounds awful, but when you realize that you get to spend your summer at the ballpark there really isn’t anything better. With all that time together, the people in the front office and the other interns start to feel like your family. I’m from central Illinois, and after we got past all the “flatland” jokes (I think they finally stopped about the first week of August) that really became the case.
One of the many things I loved about being an intern with the Mallards was that every day brought something different. A new team came to the ballpark, a new promotion was happening and new people were coming to experience a game at the “Duck Pond.” My major duties revolved around helping the media with interview requests and whatever else they needed, plus writing game previews, post-game stories, feature stories and press releases to send to the media and post on the website. I also did a lot of work with statistics and other miscellaneous things for the coaching staff and players. It really solidified in my mind that sports media relations is what I want to do for a career.
If you’ve ever been to a game at the “Duck Pond” (and if you haven’t, you definitely need to this summer), you already know about what a great environment it is to see a game. That’s more of a marketing, promotions and operations thing, so I wanted to talk a little bit about the quality of the team that you’ll see on the field.
I spend the school year as the team manager for the University of Illinois baseball team (home of current Mallards Brandon Wikoff and Nick Chmielewski, and former Mallards Joe Bonadonna and Mike Rohde, among others). I’ve been looking through the roster for this year’s team, and once again, Vern and Coach Thieleke have done a great job of getting quality players from great baseball schools. Some of these guys are dominating the headlines with their performances so far this year, and many of their teams are competing for conference championships and the postseason. It’s quite an assortment of talent from all across the country, so I’m sure the fans will love watching these guys play on a daily basis this summer. It should be another quality Mallards team taking the field and competing for a championship.
I guess I’ll wrap it up for this entry. It was a nice surprise to open my email and see another “assignment” from Jerrad. It brought back memories of last summer and getting one of the tasks that needed to be done or media requests that needed to be handled. I know the “Duck Pond” is going to be rocking again this summer with great family fun and great baseball. Let’s try to get back to the championship series and bring one home this time.
So it is time for my next blog…well actually my blog was due last week but my kind co-worker Steven Stewart filled the gap for me. It is May, wow, I can’t believe it. The spring has flown by and summer is right around the corner. The day’s move pretty fast right now.
Vern is busy learning the ins and outs of twitter, the newest online craze. I don’t know that much about it however it sounds like it can be a little addicting.
Jerrad is busy running from room to room to the press box and back again. Good thing he has 2 interns in working for him now, it should make his plate a little less full.
Meanwhile Kevin is doing all that he can to help local schools complete their reading programs. This is the first year of the reading program and it has been well received. If you’re interested in learning more about the reading program, contact Kevin, he’s your guy.
Nick and John are busy preparing for the season; Nick is working on getting the souvenir stand up and running well & John is working on getting signage for the ballpark and getting things organized for Opening Day. Mike is busy setting up mascot appearances, delivering pocket schedules and not emailing us messages in the office. You see, he is old school and likes to put post-its on our desks. Ask Nick how much he likes post-its on his desk!
Steven, well, he is busy doing everything. He takes care of everything outside of the office from growing grass to painting. And when it rains he makes trips to Sports Impressions to pick up merchandise or he spends time working on getting us equipment for the summer. Steven really is pretty handy and helps us out a lot, I am pretty sure we don’t tell Steven that enough, so thanks Steven!
I have been busy doing a little bit of everything. Single game tickets are on sale now so we are busy taking ticket orders, printing tickets and finalizing orders. We recently received the rest of our ticket stock so I have been busy trying to organize the ticket office so it is not complete chaos.
Well now that you have the update of everyone in the office, I thought I would end with a few of the things I am looking forward to this summer.
1) The Trek Bike Blind. Many of you may not know but I am a closeted cyclist. I got hooked when I lived in Green Bay and still continue casual road-riding when I can. Having a more exclusive area for bikes this summer is something I am looking forward to.
2) The double header on July 12th, that is something that I am looking forward to. We will have a lot of fun packed into that day with a BBQ in between games. Nothing goes better with a double header then BBQ!
3) The Duck Blind Club level. The Club level includes unlimited ballpark food, drink, a nightly food special, separate food and beverage stations in the Club level and reserved picnic tables for 8! Not to mention one of the best views of the ballpark!
4) The Evergreen tree seedlings give away. We are going green and I couldn’t be more excited! There is something about giving out 2,000 trees that puts a smile on my face.
Well now you know what I am looking forward to... what are you looking forward to??
