Nobody at home May 26, 2002

By Phillip Ramati
Telegraph Staff Writer

Talk to government officials, business leaders, or citizens in nearly any city with professional sports and most will point to the home team as a point of civic pride and a boon to the quality of life.

Macon is no different. But for some reason, the rah-rah isn't showing at the turnstiles.

Despite having a Metropolitan Statistical Area of more than 322,000 (Bibb, Jones, Houston, Peach and Twiggs counties) none of the area's three pro sports teams - the Macon Braves, the Macon Whoopee and the Macon Knights - draw even one percent of that total in average attendance for a season.

All three teams rank near the bottom of their respective leagues in attendance, and all three have seen their attendance figures drop from the previous season. This despite having competitive teams, and in the case of the Braves, an affiliation with a team that holds the allegiance of nearly all the area's major league baseball fans.

Consider:

A dozen players on the current Atlanta Braves roster have seen time in Macon.

The Whoopee has reached the playoffs or been in playoff contention last in the season for five of its six years.

The Knights were arenafootball2's Expansion Team of the Year last season when they qualified for the playoffs, and are off to a 5-2 start this year.

No one is more puzzled about the poor attendance than the people with the most vested interest in pro sports here - city leaders and the teams themselves.

"I'm not from Macon, but it's an interesting thing to me as well," said Annjela Hynes-Porter, director of marketing for the Knights. "We're trying to figure it out ourselves in a town this size. Most people are aware of the teams. You'd think the support would follow. For some reason, it's not translating to fans in the seats.

"If it was just the Knights, I might think it was something else. But because it's the other sports franchises, it makes me feel like there's some other element at work. We're perplexed; we have no idea what it is."

Added City Council president Anita Ponder: "I wish someone would tell me the answer to that question. I don't think it means we stop trying to figure it out. Having sports teams is very important regardless of the attendance. It's a big step for the community; we need to step up and support the teams."

Hynes-Porter brings up an interesting point. Some cities, such as Little Rock, Ark. or Huntsville, Ala. have done poorly in hockey but very well in arena football, showing that if there is an interest in at least one sport, fans in certain areas will support it.

Not knowing the cause of the attendance problem makes finding a solution difficult.

"It's hard to say. It really is," said Brother Stewart, the majority partner in Macon Sports Group, which runs the Whoopee. "If I knew, I'd address it. I don't think any team in Macon can be self-sustaining."

Problems vary

While each team has something to attract fans, it also has elements that might keep them away.

The Braves' lame-duck status in their final season before moving to Rome isn't particularly beneficial. "We saw this coming," said club general manager Mike Dunn said.

Nor is the Whoopee's uncertain status during the offseason in each of the past four years. "It's difficult to stay supportive with the uncertainty that hangs over the team every year," five-year season ticket-holder Scott Schieber said.

The Knights are trying to promote a game that many people are unfamiliar with.

"We're doing an analysis of our advertising and promotions for each game," said Ed Olson, who co-owns the Knights with his wife, Beverly. "(Knights coach Kevin Porter) has put together an outstanding product. It's a team central Georgia should support. I don't know why central Georgia is not supporting its teams, especially the Knights. We've spent a lot of money on advertising in all (media), but people aren't coming out."

Hynes-Porter added that the Knights were consistent with every other arenafootball2 team in its advertising budget. Exposure, however, doesn't always translate into tickets sales.

"It may not be well-spent money," Darren Roberts, the Whoopee director of sales, said of advertising. "This is not a walk-up town. It's the same people buying tickets. It's proven with us that the walk-up is always between 700 and 1,000, whether you spend $8,000 or $800,000 on advertising. It's not a knock on the city; it's just not a walk-up town."

Macon hasn't been much of an advance ticket town, either.

"It's a different market," Dunn said. "This city does not buy anything in advance. That I can't understand. But that's part of our duty to go into the city and to try to understand the trends and try to grasp hold of what's going on, and it's been a consistent message for six years that you're not going to sell tickets in advance."

Lately, Macon has been a walk-away town.

Ticket sales for the Braves are down 45 percent from 2001, but that hasn't surprised team officials given the club's lame-duck status. The Whoopee's average attendance dropped more than 200 per game this season over 2001 even though it moved to the more prestigious East Coast Hockey League. Knights attendance has fallen about 40 percent, from an average of 3,692 last season to 2,248 through four home games this year.

And Macon fares poorly compared to other Georgia cities of comparable size with all three sports in the same leagues.

The Whoopee's average attendance of 2,791 this season in the 7,100-seat Coliseum was 25th in the 29-team ECHL. Augusta finished 11th (4,279) and Columbus was 23rd (3,020). While Augusta made the playoffs, the Whoopee missed the postseason after being in contention most of the season. Columbus started slowly and never was a playoff challenger.

In af2, the Knights don't fare any better. Macon ranks 32nd in the 34-team league. Augusta is 25th (3,901 in two games) after a perfect 6-0 start while Columbus is 28th (3,675 in three games) despite winning just two games in two seasons.

The Braves (1,217 through 20 games in 2002) are faring slightly better at 12th in the 16-team South Atlantic League. Augusta is a solid eighth at 1,959 per game, while Columbus, another lame-duck city in baseball, is last at 776 per game.

While some believe that Macon fans might be spending their sports dollars in Atlanta, all three cities are within two hours drive from the state's hub.

"It could be our proximity to Atlanta," Macon mayor Jack Ellis said. "It's an hour-and-fifteen-minute drive to the big-league stadiums. But the price is definitely right with the minor league teams like minor league hockey or baseball. I don't know. They seem to do a pretty good job or promoting their products. I can't put my finger on why the community doesn't support them."

The future

It's a possibility that by this time next year, Macon could be a one-sport town.

The Braves are gone, and while the city is actively pursuing another baseball team, it will probably be a couple of years before Macon lands a replacement near the Braves Class A level. There has been no announcement on the future of the Whoopee.

The Knights will be around at least another year because they signed a three-year deal with af2. But without consistent fan support, who knows what the future holds for them.

"I know this - if the community doesn't support the team, they won't be around," Porter said. "If the support was there, the Whoopee wouldn't have instability, the Braves wouldn't be going to Rome. Beverly Olson didn't buy the team to make a huge profit, but she also didn't buy it to lose money. She created the entity for the city."

Said Roberts: "I think the bulk of (responsibility) lies with the individual organization. I don't blame the people of Middle Georgia by any means. It's our responsibility to put people in the seats."

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