With a sellout in tonight’s game against the Florida Marlins, fans of Red Sox Nation will achieve 500 consecutive regular season sellout games at Fenway Park.  The previous Major League record of 455, set by the Cleveland Indians between 1995-2001, was broken by the Red Sox on September 8, 2008.  The Red Sox plan to hold a number of special activities and giveaways at Fenway Park tonight to thank the fans and to celebrate this remarkable accomplishment.

“This record is the fans’ record, and we want to salute the members of Red Sox Nation for reaching this extraordinary milestone,” said John W. Henry, Principal Owner.  “It’s a testament to the passion and dedication they have for the game, for the team, and for the ballpark.  Every day, we work hard to ensure that we are worthy of their loyal support.”

Every fan will receive two mementos, one on their way in and the other as they leave the ballpark after the game.  A special commemorative postcard celebrating the historic achievement will be distributed to fans as they enter the gates.  The front of each postcard features a panoramic photograph of Fenway Park and the graphic “Thank you for 500 Consecutive Sellouts at Fenway Park 2003-2009”.  On the reverse is a letter from Red Sox ownership expressing the team’s gratitude and appreciation to the fans for their unwavering and passionate support.  As they leave Fenway Park, all fans will also receive a special commemorative baseball etched with the ‘500’ graphic.

In addition, at the end of every inning break, randomly selected fans throughout the ballpark will receive giveaways thanks to valued Red Sox corporate sponsors.  The giveaways and their corresponding sponsors/partners, in alphabetical order, are:

• ARAMARK: 500 Certificates for a free Hot Dog
• D’Angelo: 500 Free Lunch Coupons (includes a small sub/sandwich, chips and a drink)
• Dunkin’ Donuts: 500 $10.00 Gift Cards
• Gulf: 500 $10.00 Gas Cards
• Qdoba Mexican Grill: 500 Certificates for a free Burrito
• Papa Gino’s: 500 Coupons for a free Large Cheese Pizza
• The Red Sox Team Store: 500 $10.00 Gift Cards
• Stanley Tools: 500 25' Stanley FatMax Tape Rules

Additionally, one lucky fan whose seat is located 500 feet from homeplate will be chosen to receive two authentic bleacher seats from Fenway Park.  The pair was part of the seats taken out and replaced before the 2008 season.  Coincidentally, Red Sox Legend Ted Williams hit his 500th career home run against the Cleveland Indians on this day in 1960.

During inning breaks, brief video “thank you” messages from players, ownership and other Boston notables will be played on the centerfield videoboard.  After the top of the fifth inning, when the game and the 500th sellout becomes official, a congratulatory video dedicated to Red Sox Nation will be played on the videoboard as well.  The video features some of the most memorable and significant moments that have occurred during the span of the past 500 games at Fenway Park.

As part of the pre-game ceremonies, the three fans who will deliver the Ceremonial First Pitch will wear Red Sox jerseys with the numbers ‘5’, ‘0’ and ‘0’ on their backs to represent all those in Red Sox Nation who helped make possible 500 consecutive regular season sellout games at Fenway Park.

Source: Boston Red Sox

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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First, the Dodgers created Mannywood, a section of bleacher seats in leftfield and a special ticket promotion to go with. When Ramirez was suspended in May for a drug violation, the Dodgers rechristened the section 90090, the new zip code assigned to Dodger Stadium. Now, the Baltimore Orioles have taken a page out of the Dodgers playbook by announcing a new ticket promotion today.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards is located at 333 West Camden Street , but this summer Orioles fans will have the option to reside at 2110 Eutaw Street by taking advantage of a new ticket offer. The Orioles have combined the uniform numbers of two of their best young outfielders, Nick Markakis and Adam Jones, to re-identify an area of the Eutaw Street Bleachers and give fans the opportunity to take part in a unique promotion.

For a number of pre-selected games beginning with the game on Sunday, July 12 vs. Toronto , fans can purchase a Eutaw Street bleacher seat and a limited edition “I Live at 2110 Eutaw Street ” t-shirt for only $21. In addition, Markakis and Jones will toss baseballs into the stands throughout the game, and for every home run hit by Markakis or Jones in that day’s game, one fan in the section will receive a bat autographed by the player who hit the homer.

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced that Matt Kemp will be depicted on the third and final bobblehead promotion of 2009. The first 50,000 fans in attendance on Wednesday, August 19, when the Dodgers take on the St. Louis Cardinals, will receive the Kemp bobblehead, compliments of Dodgers banking only at Bank of America.

Kemp is in his third full season in the majors, and is a career .301 hitter with 43 home runs and 176 RBI in 368 games since making his big league debut in 2006. The 24-year-old is batting .308 with eight homers and 35 RBI in 63 games this year. His 14 stolen bases rank fifth in the National League. He has started 60 of the Dodgers 64 games, all but one in centerfield. The Oklahoma native was selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2003 draft.

Kemp in 2008 launched his community initiative entitled Kemp’s Kids, hosting children from local Boys and Girls Clubs at a number of games throughout the season. Thus far in 2009, the children he has hosted are from West San Gabriel Valley Boys and Girls Club, Salesian Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles, and Variety Boys and Girls Club.

Source: Los Angeles Dodgers

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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Citing the end of school and the beginning of summer, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that they will provide Free Parking in the general lots at Dodger Stadium for the three-game series June 16-18 versus the Oakland Athletics. Gates open at 5:10 p.m. and game times are 7:10 p.m.

Fans will be able to enter all Dodger Stadium gates, where the $15 parking fee will be waived for entrance into the general lots.  Fans who have purchased preferred parking will still park in their sections.

The Dodgers will be celebrating Heroes Week during the three-game series, honoring police, firefighters, and community heroes. DodgersWIN, the club’s women’s initiatives network, will be presenting the tributes.

On Tuesday, June 16, Police Appreciation Night, the team pays tribute to Los Angeles law enforcement officials. Kent McCord, who portrayed an LAPD officer on the show, “Adam-12,” will join female LAPD officers in the DodgersWIN tent in centerfield before the game.

Since the Dodgers defeated the A’s in the 1988 World Series, Oakland has played just eight times at Dodger Stadium with the Dodgers winning five of those eight games.

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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For several years now, I have been writing that it was a matter of when, not if, we’ll see corporate advertisements on jerseys in Major League Baseball, by looking at the corporate advertisement during the World Baseball Classic, and Opening Day games in Japan. As I reported in March just before the start of the WBC:

The idea of finding unobtrusive ways of engaging more sponsorship activation may never have been closer.

The reason is, of course, the gloomy economy.

When times are tough, you can always count on reevaluating old taboos. As the need for the almighty dollar makes owners and league executives redefine what is pure and what is not, aspects like uniform advertisement, or revisit the sacrilegious idea of ads on the sides of bases, become more likely.

Given that baseball is slow to move against its traditions (the hullabaloo over the Spiderman 2 6"x6" logo on the top of the bases that was to occur for all of two days in June of 2004 during interleague is the best example), it’s not surprising that other U.S. sports leagues finally have broken through the barrier.

Certainly MLS is not new to this, but the Big-4 had not done so. And while the WNBA is by all accounts a distant cousin to the NBA, it is the women’s pro basketball league that jumped out with not one, but two deals over the past week, with more on the horizon

On Monday, the Phoenix Mercury announced that they had reached a sponsorship agreement with identity-theft protection company LifeLock to have a 10-inch-by-4-inch version of their logo displayed across the front of their jerseys. Today, the LA Spark announced a similar deal with Farmers Insurance. The Fever and Storm have both been reported to be the next WNBA teams to go the jersey sponsorship route.

As mentioned, this is the WNBA, and not one of the Big-4, but ever so quietly, the NFL has jumped into the mix.

The Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys are reportedly close to deals that would place corporate advertisement on practice jerseys.

With these deals moving quickly, and sponsors a limited pool, baseball is assuredly eyeing these events. It may be that baseball starts with logos on jerseys worn during batting practice, or possibly during Spring Training. As the bar continues to inch forward, in the not too distant future, all sports leagues are bound to see some form of advertisements on jerseys during games, such as the WNBA is doing.

But, as with everything, it isn’t always as easy as it seems. What happens if a stadium has pouring rights for Pepsi and Coca-Cola wants to do jersey sponsorship? What if adidas is looking for uniform ads, but Nike is a key sponsor in the ballpark, such is now the case with the Yankees? All of this will be played out over the course of the next few years. Bank on it. Or, maybe I should say, look for a bank advertisement on a jersey for your sports team near you. Remember, money is hard for owners to say no to, and here’s one more revenue stream to collect from.

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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