On Friday morning, Cleveland Indians president Mark Shapiro held a press conference at Great Lakes Brewery to announce a new intiative by the organization to intrigue fans to spend more of their time at the ballpark.
Despite being in the hunt for the club's first playoff berth since 2007, the team still ranks dead last in attendance. Shapiro and the Indians hope to change that by introducing a new promotion that will make it more affordable for fans to come to games by offering discounted concessions and transportation options.
"One of our commitments is to make the fans the focus of our actions," said Shapiro. "Transportation and food have been recurring themes in our conversations with fans. In response to these conversations, our main goal is to provide convenience and value so that these concerns do not interfere with the ability for our fans to have memorable experiences at Progressive Field."
The new marketing campaign will allow spectators to purchase food combos at discounted price with the emphasis being placed on bigger discounts being given to combos that are bought together (for example: "Triple Play Pizza" will be sold for $3.25 per slice but three slices can be purchased for $9.75, saving fans an additional $1.50).
In addition, a free transportation weekend will be available the week of July 20 where all services from parking to train fees will be free with the possession of a ticket to that weekend's set of games. Following that series, discounted transportation prices will be provided.