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11/21/2012
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NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 2, 2012
CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM
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Kramer to lead Crain’s Cleveland, Detroit offices Staffing firm Keith Crain, chairman of Crain Communications, has named Mary Kramer group publisher for the company’s regional business publications in Cleveland and Detroit. Ms. Kramer has been publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business since 2005. Brian
Kramer
Tucker will remain publisher of Crain’s Cleveland Business but will be part of the publishing group reporting to Ms. Kramer. “We are delighted to have the expertise of Mary Kramer combining with Crain’s Cleveland Business and Brian Tucker,” Mr.
Crain said. “It will be a formidable combination.” Ms. Kramer joined Crain Communications as editor of Crain’s Detroit Business in 1989; Mr. Tucker joined Crain in 1985 as editor of Crain’s Cleveland Business and was named publisher in 1988. The two publications will continue to serve their audiences indepen-
dently, with stories and data specific to their markets, Ms. Kramer said. “Together ... we can better serve readers and advertisers by working on events and new digital marketing offerings,” she said. “We already are producing similar events in both markets that have been well-received by those who attend. We look forward to even greater collaborations.” ■
Premium: Indians offering ticket buyers options continued from PAGE 1
premium product mix. “We understand that a large percentage of our business is based on the team” performance, Mr. Shapiro said. “But of that other small percentage, we have to be 100% perfect. The good thing is that we have complete control over that side of things, where things happen on the field that we don’t have control over.”
What you’ll find After studying before the 2012 season changes to its current club area — including pricing and whether to continue the all-inclusive food option — the Indians kept that model intact, with slightly lower prices. The team still struggled to sell those seats, but Indians executives are confident the Premium Club will sell, in part because of its exclusivity. Most importantly, the Premium Club features the ability to see the field throughout, from the bar at one end to two serving stations along the back walls to half-circle tables positioned just inside retractable glass, for a rainy or cold day. The current club area’s climatecontrolled lounge is set back from the seating area, meaning fans sitting inside at the bar or standing at a serving station can’t see the field and watch the game; Progressive Field as a whole also does not include such visibility from concourses, a feature of some parks built after it opened in 1994. In addition, the seats in the Premium Club are closer to home plate: The four former suites closest to home plate are closer than the first section of the current club, while the portion of the new area closest to home plate abuts the last booth of the stadium’s press box. That proximity gives customers access and views of SportsTime Ohio’s pre- and post-game shows, including “All Bets Are Off” with Bruce Drennan and “Chuck’s Last Call” with Chuck Galeti. The Premium Club’s furthest section from home plate aligns with the first-base bag, while the area in the club section furthest from home runs nearly to the middle of the outfield. The area of the new section closest to home plate also features side tables for fans’ purses, smart phones or other devices, and all seating features 8- to 10-inch food and drink rails. Plus, the menu in the Premium Club will be given a bit of flair. Not only will it change nightly — the current club menu changes every homestand — but it also will feature items specific to the visiting team, such as barbecue for the Kansas City Royals or chowder when the Boston Red Sox are in town. Among the choices on a sample menu provided by the Indians were aged prime rib,
A wider look at the new Premium Club at Progressive Field. RENDERING PROVIDED
fried walleye fingers, lemon thyme roasted chicken breast and smoked pork loin with guava barbecue sauce. Bill Dorsey, chairman of the Cincinnati-based Association of Luxury Suite Directors, said such reconfiguration of premium areas is common, and generally has been successful at sports venues across the country. He said the limited inventory in the Premium Club should make demand strong, though teams can run the risk of “cannibalization,” or moving customers from one luxury area to another — in this case, from the club to the Premium Club — while not drawing new buyers. “But it’s like buying a car,” Mr. Dorsey said. “The consumer wants options, from a luxury car to a fullsize to a standard. That’s what teams can do with these multiple neighborhoods.”
Number keeps dropping The tearing out of 10 more suites continues the Indians’ makeover of their premium areas. That process began in early 2010 when the team first issued a call to architects to tour the ballpark and suggest ways to improve underused spaces. Since then, the Indians have conducted massive amounts of research, including repeated surveys of their best customers, to determine what might fly best. To advance those researchefforts , they’ve also in the last 15 months hired director of brand management Alex King, formerly of Procter & Gamble, and director of premium seating Ryan Robbins, who worked for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders prior to joining the Indians. The Indians at one point had more than 120 suites, the secondmost in Major League Baseball, behind only the Texas Rangers’ Ballpark at Arlington. But that number slowly has dwindled: a fan cave that features flat-screen TVs and a pool table; a social suite for the team’s most active fans on social media; four suites combined into Progressive Field’s Champions Suite; and most recently,
a project that combined seven suites into the team’s Kids Clubhouse on the mezzanine level have given the team more selling options. Later, the Indians began including a suite rental, two free club seats and access to the Terrace Club, overlooking left field, in the purchase or renewal of season ticket packages. Mr. Robbins said two weeks ago in a tour of the construction site that the Premium Club format was
received well in the Indians’ surveys, and that the Indians’ sales team, armed with renderings and final details, just was hitting the streets to sell the remade area. The Indians are confident the 120 seats will sell out nightly. The project is slated for completion March 17. The Indians open the home portion of their schedule next season on April 8 against the New York Yankees. ■
names new leader in Akron office
Alliance’s ‘hub’ there will serve all of its nine business units Staffing and recruitment firm Alliance Solutions Group in Independence said Mark D’Agostino has been named president of Alliance Solutions Group of Akron. Alliance Solutions Group said Mr. D’Agostino is opening a new staffing “hub” facility at 3250 West Market St., Suite 103 in Akron that offers the company’s full complement of staffing and recruitment services from all nine of its business units. Previously, the company operated a smaller office in Akron that only served the manufacturing and warehouse sectors. The Akron office is the third new or expanded office that Alliance Solutions Group has opened in the last year, with additional expansions taking place in Elyria, the Mahoning Valley, and Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The firm currently has more than 70 internal employees throughout Ohio. Mr. D’Agostino recently joined the company, in part to spearhead its Akron initiative. Mr. D’Agostino also is helping to launch Alliance Military Placement Solutions, the company’s business unit focused on helping military veterans return to work. ■