Monday, June 30, 2003
The Red Sox have expressed a desire to move their minor league affiliates to New England so I thought about my residence - Burlington, Vermont. Currently, Burlington plays host to the Vermont Expos in the New York Penn League. The Red Sox could seize an underdeveloped New England market by moving a minor league affiliate to Burlington.
Burlington is a baseball city and the largest in the State (residing in largest county consisting of 24% of the State’s population in 2000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau). ESPN’s 2002 sports fan poll indicates that Vermont fans follow MLB the most at 86% with the country’s average at 78%. www.milb.com reports that the Vermont Expos were tenth in attendance in 2001 among NY-Penn League teams while playing in a park that opened in 1906. Vermonters love baseball and most are Red Sox fans.
The same ESPN sports fan survey revealed that the Red Sox were the favorite team of Vermonters at 49%. A side-by-side comparison between the New England states without minor league Red Sox affiliate teams is below.
MLB Favorite Team
Red Sox/Yankees/Other (Team)
Vermont - 49%/21%/9% (Mets)
New Hampshire - 80%/5%/3% (Phillies)
Connecticut - 28%/30%/20% (Mets)
New Hampshire is already a full member of Red Sox Nation at 80%. Thus, New Hampshire has little room to grow its Red Sox fan base. It would be more advantageous to seek out other New England regions.
The poll would suggest that Connecticut has the potential to become a larger part of Red Sox Nation, but other factors make this market tough to enter. The southwestern portion of Connecticut is a part of the New York teams’ market. It would be difficult to create a sustaining fan base throughout the state without having the television rights to nearly half of the population.
Burlington, Vermont provides the best opportunity for growth of the Red Sox fan base in New England. First, only 49% of Vermont sports fans thought of the Red Sox as their favorite MLB team, which is far less than our Northern New England counter parts (Maine at 77%). New Hampshire and Maine’s closer proximity allows them to feel more connected to Boston and the Red Sox than Vermont. A minor league affiliate would assist in closing the distance between the Red Sox and Vermont.
The Red Sox could move Augusta or Sarasota’s operations to Lowell and the Spinners’ to Burlington. Both Lowell and Burlington should be able to increase attendance and revenue. Lowell would be playing more home games and probably would continue to sell out each game. Burlington should recognize a boost in attendance from the current Red Sox fans in the area as well (note that the Expos were not mentioned as a favorite).
Currently, Vermont may not have an overwhelming majority of Red Sox fans like some of the other New England states, but that allows for the Vermont Red Sox fan base to grow. A Red Sox minor league affiliate in Vermont would assist in increasing the Red Sox fan base now and in the future.
Burlington is a baseball city and the largest in the State (residing in largest county consisting of 24% of the State’s population in 2000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau). ESPN’s 2002 sports fan poll indicates that Vermont fans follow MLB the most at 86% with the country’s average at 78%. www.milb.com reports that the Vermont Expos were tenth in attendance in 2001 among NY-Penn League teams while playing in a park that opened in 1906. Vermonters love baseball and most are Red Sox fans.
The same ESPN sports fan survey revealed that the Red Sox were the favorite team of Vermonters at 49%. A side-by-side comparison between the New England states without minor league Red Sox affiliate teams is below.
MLB Favorite Team
Red Sox/Yankees/Other (Team)
Vermont - 49%/21%/9% (Mets)
New Hampshire - 80%/5%/3% (Phillies)
Connecticut - 28%/30%/20% (Mets)
New Hampshire is already a full member of Red Sox Nation at 80%. Thus, New Hampshire has little room to grow its Red Sox fan base. It would be more advantageous to seek out other New England regions.
The poll would suggest that Connecticut has the potential to become a larger part of Red Sox Nation, but other factors make this market tough to enter. The southwestern portion of Connecticut is a part of the New York teams’ market. It would be difficult to create a sustaining fan base throughout the state without having the television rights to nearly half of the population.
Burlington, Vermont provides the best opportunity for growth of the Red Sox fan base in New England. First, only 49% of Vermont sports fans thought of the Red Sox as their favorite MLB team, which is far less than our Northern New England counter parts (Maine at 77%). New Hampshire and Maine’s closer proximity allows them to feel more connected to Boston and the Red Sox than Vermont. A minor league affiliate would assist in closing the distance between the Red Sox and Vermont.
The Red Sox could move Augusta or Sarasota’s operations to Lowell and the Spinners’ to Burlington. Both Lowell and Burlington should be able to increase attendance and revenue. Lowell would be playing more home games and probably would continue to sell out each game. Burlington should recognize a boost in attendance from the current Red Sox fans in the area as well (note that the Expos were not mentioned as a favorite).
Currently, Vermont may not have an overwhelming majority of Red Sox fans like some of the other New England states, but that allows for the Vermont Red Sox fan base to grow. A Red Sox minor league affiliate in Vermont would assist in increasing the Red Sox fan base now and in the future.
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Thank you - Red Sox!
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