The Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, have won the Southern League Championship twice in a row. From players like Edgar Quero, Sean Newcomb, and Brooks Baldwin who are now in Chicago to current Barons, Rikuu Nishida, Wilfred Veras, and Calvin Harris, the past two years have been electric on the diamond at Regions Field, however a recent change in ownership and management is starting to show as well.
It has been over two years since the announcement of the sale of the Barons to Diamond Baseball Holdings, who also own three of the four minor league affiliates of the White Sox. DBH has a long successful history in managing teams. In June of last season, they announced that long-time general manager, Jonathan Nelson was no longer with the organization. He was replaced with John Cook, who had been with the Barons for nearly 15 years at the time and graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in advertising. If anyone knows how to get the fans in the seats it is him even though at the time Birmingham was the 2nd highest attended team in the Southern League, with the Rocket City Trash Pandas being number one.
John told us shortly after his hire that he wants to make everything about the Fan experience enjoyable. "We want to make sure that everyone who buys a ticket and comes to Regions Field is treated to a warm and a friendly face, a quality food and beverage, a clean ballpark, and an exciting game from the fan experience" So far he has done just that. He has made some major changes to the promotion, food, and other areas to ensure that, in his words "from the time [fans] buy a ticket and go through the experience, it leads you to buy another." This was echoed by his sentiments prior to the start of the season as he said " Everything here is about the fan!" he continued "It means we have done our job if they are greeted with a friendly face, the food and beverage is good, and the entertainment piece is all it should be." He said that the back to back champions but that is not always what brings the fans in. John explained "Most fans may not even know the score at the end of the game, but they leave knowing they had a good time!"
Regions Field, nestled in the heart of downtown Birmingham, opened it's gates for the first time in 2013. It won multiple awards for how beautiful it is, with the beautiful business district visible from left field and Children's Hospital and UAB visible from right field. It is one of the beast places to watch a game in this journalists opinion, however in recent years things had been a bit stagnant in the park . Certain aspects had been left in disarray due to neglect from the city. When we came into the park for media day, it had transformed back to its early years with improved facades and damages repaired thanks to the Barons organization. They completely reimagined the concourse to add variety into the food and beverage options available to the fan. They added a burrito stand, additional kiosks for concessions, and much more to decrease the wait times and give the fans more options to choose from than in previous year, even though the Philly cheesesteaks behind home plate is still my go-to.
Food and beverage is not the only thing to change. They have recently brought in live acts to greet the fans as they enter the main gate behind home plate. They introduced 205 Sundays where there will be hotdogs sold for $2.05, first pitch time 2:05 PM, and an opportunity for local businesses to engage the fans on the concourse for the game. John Cook said he this was an important move to engage the city. The between-inning entertainment piece has even improved. The best part is that the organization is not taking away the best parts from the past to make room for these, but just merging them in with the existing promotions. They even announced a replica championship ring giveaway promotion!
On top of the things they are doing while the Barons are in town, John and his team are trying to keep Regions Field occupied when they are away. Recently, they had Cosmic Baseball, a sports entertainment show similar to the style of the Savannah Bananas, but with black lights and fluorescent jerseys and balls. They also are bringing a similar event called Boom Ball later this summer. Then they have the well-known extreme sports promotion Nitro Circus to Regions Field as well. These promotions are directly coordinated by the Barons organization to give Regions Field new life!
Overall, the future looks bright for the Barons organization. They are continuing to innovate and promote, which has been an issue for most pro sports teams in the Birmingham market recently. The team just won their first series against the Smokies last weekend as they look to copy the Birmingham Stallions and go back to back to back with the Championship.