Baseball expansion in Charlotte

Team Branding
Charlotte Engines (Red, White, Blue)

I chose the name “Charlotte Engines” to specifically target our two biggest potential fan groups. Charlotte has a rich tradition of motor racing, particularly NASCAR. An estimated 75% of the NASCAR industry's race teams, employees and drivers are based in or near Mecklenburg County. The first NASCAR "strictly stock" race was held at Charlotte Speedway, ushering a new era of competitive motor racing. Additionally it is home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte Motor Speedway and countless racing fans. By choosing the name Engines, all Southeastern NASCAR fans can finally have a baseball team to rally behind and call their own. “Engines” is also a nod to the economic engine Charlotte has become through its banking industry. Charlotte, home to the nation's second largest financial institution by assets- Bank of America, is the second largest banking center in the United States. As corporate partnerships with the 8 Fortune 500 companies in the metropolitan area will be a cornerstone in our business plan, it is necessary to include them in our vision. Choosing a neutral name such as “Engines” allows us to acknowledge the business community without alienating our lower-income fans. The team colors are red, white, and blue, exemplifying patriotism. The primary logo is a revving engine (with a face), and the secondary logo is a motor racing vehicle with “Charlotte Engines” written on the side. The name, logo, and colors of the team will resonate well with fans on both a national and local level due to the patriotic color scheme. Our secondarily logo’s primary objective is to convey to the NASCAR community our intentions to build an immediate and lasting relationship between them and the team.

City Challenges
Question 1: The Charlotte Engines will be the first overwhelmingly successful baseball franchise to be located in the Southeast. Previous attempts at bringing baseball to this region, whether it be the Braves or the iterations of Washington teams, have failed due to a lack of understanding of their fan base communities. The Engines will be unique in their ability to intertwine the team with the community. Charlotte’s prime geographical location as "the International Gateway to the South" will spark an interest in baseball never before seen in this region of the United States. North Carolina is the most populous state that does not currently have a MLB franchise. Bringing a professional team to Charlotte is well overdue. USA Today recently rated both North and South Carolina in the top ten for best high school baseball states. The University of North Carolina’s baseball teams, who regularly are ranked in the top 25, stockpile their roster with local talent and currently feature 17 North Carolinians. Basketball attempting to stake a claim as “the sport” of North Carolina is a misleading myth. Baseball is just as much an identity of the region, and outshines basketball in the summer months. The picture below is a graphical representation of where fans of MLB teams are primarily located. Notice the section of the country encompassed by the yellow star. These are potential fans with no team to root for! The Charlotte Engines will have a large fan base with no preexisting loyalties in baseball. This is an enormous advantage over other potential expansion cities that will be forced to duke it out with other existing teams. Creating a team identity with a focus on catering to our Southeastern market will create eagerness for baseball never before seen in the South. Tapping into culture identities and using them as cornerstones for our franchise will make the Charlotte Engines the team of the South.

The city of Charlotte itself is the perfect location for a MLB franchise in the Southeast because of its booming business and population growth rates. Corporate partnerships will be abundant as Charlotte is the second largest banking center in the United States. Urban fans that would only be a cab ride away from the stadium are the fastest growing demographic of Mecklenburg County’s population. What makes this growth unique is that this 25-44 year old population group is largely college educated professionals with above average disposable income. The city of Charlotte will become Engines’ Town. Our secret weapon in becoming a regional power that will effectively carve out a strong following in the Southwest will be our partnership with NASCAR. The South is unquestionably motor racing country. Instead of making it an “us vs. them” mentality, we plan on using their popularity to spread our image. NASCAR may not be immediately open to this partnership, but employee/announcer Dale Earnhardt Jr will act as our chief negotiator with NASCAR management. This arrangement will signal the first fully co-promotional agreement between major sports franchises. To be able to say: “Charlotte Engines, the official baseball team of NASCAR,” will be worth every penny. Southern fans will finally have a baseball team they can call their own.
Question 2: The topic of public financing of stadiums has been a recent point of contention among Charlotte residents. The debate reached a fever point in 2005 when the Charlotte Hornets stadium was financed without city residents having any say. When the Florida Marlins proposed a relocation plan to Charlotte’s mayor in 2006 they were told in no uncertain terms that they would not receive a cent of public funds. The Charlotte Engines propose a partnership with the city which we feel would pass a referendum vote. Since 2006 the city’s economy has boomed and the Hornets have been wildly successful. Charlotte is now ready for its next publicly funded sports venue. In exchange for a portion to 100% public financing, the Charlotte Engines will use the stadium as a means to create value for the community. The stadium will have turf installed as opposed to natural grass so events beyond just baseball will be able to use the venue. The stadium will be available for concerts, conventions, charity fundraisers and other events when not in use by the baseball team. The ballpark will be kept in pristine condition and the absolute best customer service will be shown at these events. We believe that if we can get people into the stadium, even some which might not have gone to a baseball game before, they will become comfortable and satisfied enough with the stadium to return for an Engines game. It is our goal that Charlotte Stadium becomes a social hub for the community of Charlotte and that this will gradually put the Engines at the center of the Mecklenburg County social scene. In addition to these events which would be paid for, Charlotte Stadium would also be used by the Engines for charity endeavors and community relations. State championship high school baseball and softball games will be played on the field. Little league teams will be invited to come play baseball with some of the players on an MLB diamond during “Junior Baseball Day.” Fundraisers for the “Engines Fund”, a non-profit charity dedicated to local Charlotte concerns, will be held right on the field. The Charlotte community will come to consider Charlotte Stadium a place of their own. To draw an immediate and passionate positive response from citizens during the referendum vote we will pitch an event guaranteed to captivate the masses. Both a University of North Carolina vs University of South Carolina football and baseball game will be held on the field at Charlotte Stadium. The logistics of the game will be similar to the Northwestern vs Illinois game which was held at Wrigley Field. The ownership of the Engines is financially able and committed to subsidizing the cost to the universities in order to make this event happen. We will give every effort to make this event take place, but the mere possibility should play an influential role in the voting process. As proposed by Professor Sarah Wilhelm, an Economic Research and Consulting professor at the University of Utah, the public funding of a stadium will create four primary benefits to the city. The first two of these benefits are primarily economic. First is job creation and income. Not only will the stadium create jobs during construction and operation, it will also result in an increase in jobs for the surrounding businesses. Hotels, restaurants and bars will all see an economic increase on home game days as well as times the stadium is hosting major events. The second primary economic benefit is the tax revenue generated by increased spending in and around the stadium. Income tax will also increase as the athletes themselves, majority of who are in the highest income tax bracket, will likely live in Charlotte. The next two benefits to the city are related to quality of life. Fan happiness will benefit citizens of Charlotte even if they do not make it to a game. The Engines will create a buzz among the community and deliver an astounding game day experience the fans will always enjoy. Lastly, the Charlotte Engines will generate civic pride. Baseball fans in Charlotte will finally have a team of their own to root for.
Question 3: Charlotte, North Carolina is a city on the rise both economically and socially. The most appealing aspect of Charlotte may be that it is a hidden gem, not yet overwhelmed by a critical mass of residents like New York or Los Angeles. Players will have the unique ability to play for a major city that still has a small town feel among its tight knit community. Southern hospitality shown throughout Charlotte will give Engines players the feeling they are home. Players will not have to face the types of paparazzi and fan badgering as they would in an inferior city such as Las Vegas. The Charlotte Observer staff has traditionally been patient and fair in its portrayal of teams and their players. Engines players will not have to wake up to see their face in the headlines, with nothing but a gossip filled column like players in the New York market. With two major sports franchises in the city, the Hornets and Panthers, there already is an established athlete clique. Nightclubs, restaurants, limousines, and even escort services are already comfortably with catering to professional athletes’ specifications. In order to ensure the long term success of each franchise, the Hornets, Panthers and Engines will partner with locally headquartered corporations in creating the ultimate free agent experience.
Imagine Michael Jordan, Cam Newton, Brian T. Moynihan (Bank of America CEO), and the Mayor of Charlotte all sitting at the same table facing a potential free agent. Until Charlotte begins to receive the recognition it deserves as a major city, these free agent pitches will enable all franchises to get the top talent in their sport. Locally headquartered corporations’ have a vested interest in Charlotte and as such are committed to seeing it progress. The Charlotte sports scene will grow fastest if the major franchises support one another.
Charlotte is located in a prime location for athletes with family in the United States. Nearly 60 percent of the country's population lives within a two-hour flight of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Charlotte also has been on the receiving end of very high rankings: “No. 2 Most Desirable Place to Purchase a Home,” “No. 9 Top Moving Destination,” and even “Top 10 Big Booming Cities.” The mild summer and winters make it a comfortable place to live year round. These facts will be important when we seek veteran talent for our roster. The allure of raising a family in Charlotte will be a large part of any pitch to a free agent veteran we go after.
The largest age group living in Charlotte is 25-44 at just under 40%. This equates to a youthful city with a thriving nightlife. However, it would be foolish to suggest that Charlotte nightlife is comparable to larger market cities. As neither the franchise nor the city can snap its fingers and create nightlife, instead they must find a way to centralize it around the players.
The solution to this problem will be Club Lete, the first nightclub created specifically for professional athletes. Club Lete will only admit players for the Hornets, Panthers and Engines as well as any friends of theirs they add to the guest list. Of course there will be no restriction to women being admitted to the club. This unique nightlife spot will offer a plethora of hydrating beverages as well as the traditional alcoholic options. Team security will be omnipresent throughout the facility to keep any negative circumstances to a minimum. Camaraderie amongst teammates as well as among the other teams will create a unified Charlotte sports scene. This camaraderie will also be an aid in persuading free agents to stay when their contracts expire.
Charlotte will never have the bright lights of Las Vegas or New York; but New York and Las Vegas will never have the Southern sunshine of Charlotte.

Team Financing and Economic Issues
In order to set ticket and parking prices, I examined the prices of the closest teams in our region: the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals. After analyzing the market dynamics of each franchise, I decided that that ticket prices and parking for the Charlotte Engines should be close to the average prices for the Washington Nationals, and greater than the average prices for the Atlanta Braves. The average price of an Atlanta Braves ticket is $18, and the average price for parking is $15. The average price for a Washington Nationals ticket is $35, and the average cost of parking is $10.
We will do everything in our power to not become the next Atlanta Braves, and ticket pricing is included in that principle. If the ticket prices were set at a remarkably low price, such as Atlanta’s, potential fans would likely question the value of the experience. The Washington Nationals, on the other hand, are a recently new franchise in a Southeastern market. Though they have not seen immediate success in their franchise, they appear to be en route to becoming a successful franchise. Therefore it is reasonable to keep the average ticket price around $35, and the average parking cost at $15.
The median household income for residents of Mecklenburg County is $56,114. This number is slightly greater than the national median household income which is $53,046. Mecklenburg County residents are left with an average of $715 a week in disposable income. The demographics of the median potential fan are critical when setting prices, as they will make up the greatest percentage of attendees. 41% of Charlotte residents have received at least a bachelor’s degree, indicating that many citizens have greater than average disposable income. The average total cost of attending a game for an individual if they parked at the game would be about $50. The census data also indicates to us the importance of drawing from the whole County since Charlotte’s median household income is $46,975. Ticket prices will remain constant regardless of attendance figures. It is imperative for us to not lower the prices of tickets, particularly in the first years. Lowering ticket prices will indicate that value of the product has diminished as well. Our ticket prices will be set at a fair and accurate price which reflects the value of attending the ballpark. In the instance that demand for tickets exceeds the amount of available tickets, ticket prices will rise slightly. We will not raise any ticket prices more than 5% in any given year as a precaution against short term peaks and valleys. After the first year of operations when full scale economic analyses can be completed, dynamic ticket pricing will be our structure. This structure will enable the Engines to maximize their profit for each home game. Luxury boxes will be targeted to the major corporations in Charlotte as a primary means of client entertaining. Business deals are made out of the office as well, and a baseball park is the perfect location to impress clients. An extraordinarily large emphasis will be placed on selling out all of our luxury suites prior to Opening Day. It is important to note that the skybox will not be reserved exclusively for Major League Baseball games, and will include all concerts, conventions, and various events that are scheduled in the stadium in order to maximize year-round profits. Corporations will have the one time ability to purchase a box that will be theirs for 3 consecutive years. Following this 3 year period the time interval would shift to one year leases. The purpose for the 3 year opportunity is to guarantee a stream of revenue separate from general attendance. Our partnerships with Charlotte corporations will be crucial to our long term success, so within the boxes we will make an emphasis of catering to their every need. Eventually owning a box in Charlotte Stadium will become a sign of status within the Charlotte business community.

Team Marketing and Mass Media
Advertising:
The predominant forms of advertising for the Charlotte Engines will be regional television, local radio, billboards and social media. As an expansion franchise, the most crucial part of the Engines’ success will be building our brand. Our advertising campaign will be presented in two different styles unique to the target audience.
Regional television, local radio and billboards will primarily feature serious and heart-grabbing messages. These advertisements will all stress that Charlotte Stadium is not just family friendly, but family centric. Mecklenburg County is experiencing double digit population growth annually with young families making up a significant portion of that increase. The television, radio, and billboard signage will create a sense of ownership by potential fans in the Engines.
Messages will create a sense of building the team together as a community. The actors involved in these advertisements will always include a family dynamic (father, mother, son, and daughter) to some extent. Also, another unique feature of Engines advertising will be the push towards female attendance. The reason for this push is twofold: complete family attendance and crowd control. Our goal in advertising to the whole family is to ensure going to Charlotte Stadium does not become a male-only event. This also plays into the second reason which is influencing crowd behavior. Countless sociology studies have proven that men raise their level of etiquette when females are present, and our goal is to use this as a tactic to maintain decorum within the stadium. Targeting young families will develop both immediate adult fans as well as position their children to be lifelong supporters of the Engines.
Our social media blitz will be targeted to the entire Southeast region of the United States. It will place a focus on the partnership between NASCAR and the Charlotte Engines. We are not necessarily targeting this market to attend games. The primary objective of the regional emphasis will be to ramp up viewership and merchandise sales. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linked In, Snapchat, and any new platform to arise will be utilized in conjunction to hit every corner of the market. Our social media blitz will also include advertising on popular regional-minded websites such as newspaper sites, magazine sites and motor racing sites.
The advertisements themselves will prominently feature our two main All-Stars, members of the Charlotte community and our mascot. Attendance is largely driven by the desire to see star players so by default the most talented players on the team serve as symbols of the franchise. It is important that our franchise builds awareness of the mascot, and understands both the racing and business implications behind its selection. Members of the community will be included in advertising to stress to the community that our goal is to build a franchise with them. The greater Charlotte community’s ownership in the team is the most effective way to start our franchise in a positive light. As we are receiving public funding, it is imperative that fans feel they are personally receiving value from the franchise.
Merchandising:
The team colors of red, white, and blue will strike a patriotic chord among all United States citizens. Red, white and blue symbolizes that we are a proud American franchise which will resonate particularly well with NASCAR fans. Wearing our patriotic team colors will identify any fan as a proud American, regardless of how loyal they are to our franchise. Outside of the Southeast our merchandise will fly off the shelves across the United States for similar reasons. Those who do not have any interest in baseball can still look to our merchandise as being both fashionable and culturally pertinent. We will emphasize the “newness” of the franchise to create interest within both national and international markets. One approach to this will be to send free hats, shirts, towels, etc. to popular celebrities across the globe. Seeing Jay-Z, Madonna, Ronaldo and LeBron James wearing our merchandize will turn it into a popular culture must-have. To assure these celebrities wear the merchandize we will work with our sponsors to give them a financial incentive to be seen wearing Engines apparel.
Charity Endeavors/Community Relations: A positive relationship between the franchise and members of the Charlotte community is the single most important factor to our success. We will make strides in doing so from the day we are incorporated as a franchise. The players will be our primary sources for our community and charity relations, especially when dealing with youth. Organizational employees, front office members in particular, will also be required to complete 100 hours of community service a year. Fans will see the owners working with local organizations within the community and begin to accept them as one of their own as opposed to staying up in the ivory tower. Players will visit schools in underprivileged areas stressing the importance of staying in school to be successful. Players will also regularly interact with various charities in the region. The Charlotte Engines will become the primary sponsors of the thriving little league baseball program in the community. No matter what socio-economic class, all teams will have a safe, updated field to play their games. Players will act as ambassadors to the league and regularly be included in reaching out to young athletes to play baseball, and become Engines fans. As a new franchise, it is imperative to establish a positive image of the team in order to draw in fans. Due to receiving public funding, it will be an uphill battle from the get-go to win over the community. We feel that the best way to do this will be to being actively involved in all aspects of charity endeavors and community relations. Through these endeavors we feel we can build a strong initial fan base that will actively be involved in assuring the long term success of the franchise.
Mass Media The Charlotte Engines will televise every regular season game in addition to spring training games, a total of 192 televised games. As a new franchise it is imperative to spread team awareness in order to establish our brand. All games for the first three years will be televised on free TV. Every game will be broadcast for free on regional radio networks as well. As we are sure our announcing booth will be extraordinarily successful, we will simulcast the games. In the early stages of our franchise, it is essential to maximize exposure. The games will be broadcasted on FM and premium satellite radio to capture some of the national audience. Enabling free exposure to the Engines in the first three years is part of our urgency in spreading brand awareness. This plan will have a positive impact on merchandise sales. As baseball in the South has traditionally been lackluster among fans, our goal is to create a regional sense of ownership of the franchise in the Southeast. The Charlotte Engines announcers will be Mark Grace, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Davis Love III. Our announcing trio will separate themselves as the best in baseball. Each of our announcers is uniquely qualified to be in the broadcasting box. Both Mark Grace and Davis Love III are North Carolina natives, so they will not be seen as outsiders. Mark Grace will be the “baseball person” in the group, utilizing his 16 years of MLB experience. Davis Love III will be included in the group to appeal to the corporate members of the Charlotte community, as golf is a popular past time among white-collar workers. Being the well-spoken member of the group, it will be his role to be the level headed member of the booth, keeping the other announcers strong personalities in check. In addition, being a Charlotte native will enable him to work local culture and history into the broadcast. The final member of the trio will be Dale Earnhardt Jr, who will retire from racing to take a contract from the Engines he can’t refuse. Dale is a no-brainer when it comes to gaining fans among the Southeastern community. As the most popular athlete in the South’s most popular sport, Dale will draw in swaths of listeners only tuning in to hear what he has to say. His lack of intimate baseball knowledge will be mitigated by his primary role of being a Southern personality. NASCAR fans will have a bridge to watch baseball with a familiar face/voice popular enough to give even the most skeptical residents a reason to engage with the Engines. Our mass media selections are being made to enforce our agenda of capturing a Southeastern market traditionally lackluster in its support for baseball. We want our product to be readily available for anyone to watch whenever the game is on. Spreading exposure both regionally and nationally will aid our goal of building a strong brand. This brand awareness will make our marketing drives more successful leading to increased fan support and merchandizing sales. There will be great weight placed on our marketing and mass media campaigns.

Baseball Operations and On-Field Issues
Player Development:
The Charlotte Engines will place heavy emphasis player development through our minor league system as a low-cost alternative to signing free agents. Due to Charlotte spending city funds to finance the stadium, it will not be economically viable to fill position needs with veteran free agents each season. The budget will include an above league average amount allocated to the scouting department. It is the team’s ultimate goal to bring players into our minor league that have tremendous potential and turn them into All-Stars in the majors. Foreign signees will be looked upon similarly to domestic recruits. Our scouts will focus on foreign players with strong potential for development as opposed to big name foreign free agents. These foreign players will be significantly less expensive than signing foreign superstar players such as Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees. The scouting department’s objective will be to find potential every-day MLB starters for each position.
Our long term plan is to place a minimal emphasis on signing of seasoned veterans due to their high cost. However, the Engines must sign at least two superstar players in the first season despite the high price tag. Though the rate of acquiring All-Star caliber players is expensive, it is crucial to develop our brand using these megastars. In line with our emphasis on player development, the amateur draft will be given a high priority. From a financial standpoint these players allow for a much greater rate of return. If these players do not eventually pan out, the franchise is largely unaffected. The uncertainty with signing young players from the amateur draft will be mitigated by our focus on scouting and player development.
Major League 25-Man Roster The Opening Day payroll will be set at $100 million. $40 million of the payroll will be earmarked for two star players to draw in the initial fan base. The star players will be a power hitter and a starting pitcher as these positions are the most popular within the sport of baseball. The majority of the roster will be filled with players who do not command a high salary and have been identified by our scouting staff as having strong potential. The largest portion of the payroll, in terms of position, will go to our pitching staff. A strong pitching staff will take pressure off our inexperienced fielders behind them. Looking to the future in using our scouting and development plan, the Engines will make a point to keep as many of the potential/eventual All-Stars in Charlotte and try to prevent free agency with long term contracts. This emphasis on power hitting and starting pitching will have fans showing up to games early and staying through the last out. The franchise is projected to earn about $143 million per season in non-luxury box tickets and parking revenue alone. Our payroll of $100 million would be the median of 2014 MLB payrolls, and indicate to our fans we are serious about delivering a dynamic on-field product. Factoring in corporate partnerships and other unlisted sources of revenue, the Charlotte Engines will be able to finance this payroll.
Big Picture The Engines’ use of public funds from the city of Charlotte makes the franchises’ main concern very clear: maximizing value to the community. This value consists of three parts: repaying financing debts, producing on-field results and being active in our charity endeavors/community relations. The first three years of the franchise are the most important to its lasting success. In their first year of competition, the Charlotte Engines will be the first expansion team to ever break .500. Front office personnel, management, coaching staff, and players will be informed on day one that this (.500) is the expectation job security will be based solely around this mark. The Engines will look to improve in each of its first three seasons with an expectation of making the playoffs in the fifth, if not fourth, year. In order to ensure immediate as well as lasting fan support, the Engines must win games. If a poorly performing team is placed into a section of the country that has been largely apathetic to baseball, history has proven that failure will follow. The Charlotte Engines will succeed because ownership will always place great importance on delivering a winning team to its fans. With a focus on player development and scouting, and an ownership committing to winning, the Charlotte Engines will win a World Series soon after their tenth year in the MLB.

Question 1 Sources: http://mlbreports.com/2014/02/11/charlotte/ http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/24/upshot/facebook-baseball-map.html?_r=0#4,39.623,-95.547

http://www.goheels.com/SportSelect.dbml?SITE=UNC&DB_OEM_ID=3350&SPID=12960&SPSID=668154

http://www.usatodayhss.com/amfam/article/top-10-high-school-baseball-states

http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/queen-city-overview

Question 2 Sources:

http://cppa.utah.edu/_documents/publications/finance-tax/sports-stadiums.pdf - (page attached)

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/queen_city_agenda/2014/01/carolina-panthers-thinking-big-with-upcoming.html?page=all

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/queen_city_agenda/2013/06/charlotte-offers-example-of-more.html?page=all

Question 3 Sources:

http://mlbreports.com/2014/02/11/charlotte/

http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/queen-city-overview

http://charlottechamber.com/eco-dev/charlotte-fast-facts/

http://charlottechamber.com/clientuploads/Economic_pdfs/Newcomer2014.pdf