RiverDogs share strategies to increase sales to counteract shorter game times

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Officials with the Charleston RiverDogs are working to engage fans after the introduction of a new rule that has made baseball games considerably shorter this season.

The new rule, implemented this year, includes a new pitch clock that limits the amount of time the pitcher must pitch. That change has led to the average time of professional baseball games to drop around 30 minutes.

Officials with the Charleston RiverDogs said to counteract the shorter games, they’re implementing some new ways to engage fans in sales.

Dave Echols, the President of the Charleston RiverDogs said they’re still in the “fact finding” stage to figure out how these shorter games will affect sales. But, in the meantime, there are some key strategies they’ve implemented to keep sales steady.

“Seeing that that was a potential for shorter games, we are looking at all these operationally to be as efficient as we can,” Echols said.

He said they are adding additional points of sale and trying to make transaction times as quick as possible.

To do this, he said they’re examining everything- from the direction of lines, menu items, and how customers are paying.

“We’ve got digital menu boards around the stadiums now so fans will know what they want to get quicker,’ Echols said.

But overall, he said he’s noticed the shorter game times are helping fans stay engaged until the end of the game.

Which is exactly what season-ticket holder Shannon Phillips said.

“It’s quicker, which is nice, especially when you have to get up early to go to work in the morning. Then instead of maybe leaving in the 7th or 8th inning, you feel like you can stay for a full game,” Phillips said.

Another RiverDog fan, Jim Radin, shared his own strategy for combating shorter game times.

“Tonight, we showed up an hour early so that we could enjoy being at the park. Because everybody is always in a great mood, it’s a great sport. And it’s just fun,” Radin said. “The atmosphere of being at any ballpark is excellent. So, we just show up a little bit earlier than we used to.”

Overall, Echols said between their new sales strategies and fans staying until the end of the game, they haven’t been too negatively impacted by the shorter game times. He said they won’t know the full extent of the impact until we get further into the season.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.