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When Jason Hochberg acquired the Fort Myers Miracle, the baseball team owner said he wanted to boost attendance by 10%.
The team hit that lofty goal this year, Hochberg's first full minor league season since the Bronx native bought the team in 2014. Attendance at the Miracle games this year reached 133,817, up 12.4% from the 2014 season. Average attendance rose 9% to 2,028 over that same period.
“Overall it was a great success,” says Hochberg. “In the Florida State League that's very meaningful.”
Granted, the Miracle won the Florida State League championship the previous year and moved into a newly renovated Hammond Stadium. “It's really like opening a brand new park on the bones of the old one,” Hochberg says.
Lee County and the Minnesota Twins spent $48.5 million to renovate the stadium and sports complex in Fort Myers. The facility is the spring training home for the Twins and season home for the Miracle, a Twins minor-league affiliate.
An attorney who once helped build power plants for a New York energy firm, Hochberg isn't a stranger to sports-team ownership. He was an owner of the Springfield Armor, a minor league basketball team that was sold last year to the NBA's Detroit Pistons to become its affiliate.
“We wanted people to experience the new ballpark,” says Hochberg. “We hit on all the things I wanted to accomplish.”
In particular, Hochberg wanted to improve the park's concessions, including the introduction of craft beers. To do that, he even created a new position: Director of Beer.
“Next year it's taking the Miracle experience to another level,” Hochberg says. “Now we're going to focus on the game day experience.”
Minor league teams are known for the wacky promotions and on-the-field antics between innings. “We're going to add some new games,” Hochberg promises.
Hochberg isn't disclosing new promotions, but he hints that some surprises are in store. “We want to take the fun quotient up. That involves new giveaways and special guests at the park.”
Another emphasis will be attracting more corporate attendance. “I added staff people to focus on that area,” says Hochberg. “We're trying to reach out to as many companies and businesses to do events with us, even on non-game days.”
For example, the Miracle recently invited hotel concierges to a wine tasting event that included catered hors d'oeuvres. “That's helping to expand our reach,” Hochberg says.
Still, Hochberg concedes that boosting attendance by 10% every year will be challenging. “It's very difficult to build 10% compounding attendance,” Hochberg says.
Currently, the Fort Myers Miracle is in third place in attendance in the Florida State League, behind the Clearwater Threshers (174,283) and the Daytona Tortugas (137,224). “The long-term goal is No. 1,” says Hochberg. “We took a very meaningful step getting there.”
Follow Jean Gruss on Twitter @JeanGruss
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