The next big thing in minor league baseball could be (drum roll, please) helicopters. Two minor league teams – the Midwest League’s Quad City River Bandits and the Northern League’s Joliet JackHammers – used helicopters to draw in fans and make some unique memories.
In the River Bandits’ case, the team loaded up the helicopter with ten bags of candy (anything from mini candy bars to marshmallows and chocolate-covered pretzels, all of which was packaged) for the first ever Mega-Candy Drop on July 26.
Participating children under 12 years old had to have a parent sign a waiver. Kids were then given wristbands to separate them by age group. They were then unleashed once the helicopter did a fly over and the bags were gradually dumped onto the field. Parents were allowed on the field to take pictures.
“Candy brings kids outs and sells tickets,” said Kirk Goodman, the team Vice President and General Manager. “We talked to the local zoo and someone told us that their most popular event was their Halloween trick-or-treat. We’re always trying to create memories. If you participated, this is something you’re never going to forget.”
The promotion worked as the team sold 2,000 tickets over the Sunday average. The River Bandits had more than 800 children on the field for the promotion, according to Goodman.
The JackHammers will do something similar, a Helicopter Drop to raise money for the local “Miracle League,” on August 30. The team will drop ping pong balls onto the field, where a giant target will be placed. For $10, fans can purchase a ticket to the game and an entry into the helicopter drop. For extra money, they can add another ping pong ball. Fans will receive a corresponding number, which will be painted on each ball. The mascot will then climb into the helicopter, hovering over the target, and eventually dropping the bag of balls onto the field.
Whichever fan’s ball lands closest to the target will split the pot, with half going to the winner and half going to charity. In order to win, though, the owner of the ball must still be in attendance, something that the Vice President of Business Development Jamie Toole said will virtually eliminate no-shows and early exits.
“We got this from the Joliet Chamber of Commerce,” Toole said. “They do it at the golf tournament, but they do it with golf balls and don’t incorporate tickets. Our goal is to sell tickets and earn some money for charity. We saw that people were talking about the helicopter drop. That’s something that you don’t see every day. We’re trying to promote things that you don’t see every day.”
The helicopter was free in both cases. In the River Bandits’ case, the team traded out the use of the helicopter, giving the owner free advertising. Some of the candy was donated by smaller companies, while Walgreens traded candy for game tickets. In the JackHammers case, the team traded out a suite night for the use of the helicopter while the ping pong balls were donated.
