Baseball season is back, and this year, it is stronger than ever in Nevada. The Las Vegas 51s start the season with a new professional affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Reno is now home to the minor league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

For years, the 51s have been associated with baseball in southern California. The team was first associated with the San Diego Padres as the Las Vegas Stars. After that, it became the affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The new affiliation, however, gives the teams some interesting promotional opportunities entering the new season.

Derek Stevens, whose family trust owns the 51s, said they plan to take advantage of the Canadian tie-in with a Canada night, during which guests can purchase Canadian beers or receive ticket discounts for wearing hockey sweaters (the preferred nomenclature for the tops worn by hockey players). The promotion will be called Blue Jay Tuesdays, which Stevens thinks will help attract a larger crowd on what has historically been a slower night for the 51s.

Additional promotions for the year include the ever popular $1 beer night and famous fireworks displays on select weekends. Stevens also said the team is looking at putting together family packages and possibly introducing a $1 food night on Mondays (also a slower night in terms of attendance), where people can get everything from hot dogs and peanuts to sodas for just $1.

With the promotions, Stevens thinks the upcoming year will set a new attendance record.

But there are other advantages for the new affiliation, too. First, because the Blue Jays play in the American League of Major League Baseball, the designated hitter rule will be in effect for all home games. As fans of baseball already know, the designated hitter rule—a provision through which teams can remove the pitcher from the batting lineup and substitute an offensive slugger—tends to lead to higher scoring games. While purists aren’t so hot on the designated hitter, there is no denying that the general public prefers to see offensive battles rather than watch defensive struggles and low-scoring games.

And, as started last year, the promotion allowing ticket holders from games in which the 51s score 10 or more runs to receive a free shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate Casino is still in effect.

“Now that the 51s are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays, that means we get to play every home game with the designated hitter, so I anticipate a few more shrimp cocktails this year,” Stevens said.

Lastly, the 51s will also look to develop hotel/ticket packages with the Golden Gate and sell tickets at the venerable Downtown casino. Other changes include dropping Sunday afternoon games after June. Stevens said it was just too hot to continue playing games in the afternoon once July arrives, something many Las Vegas residents would agree with.

It is too early to speculate about which players will be in Las Vegas at the start of the season, but the fact remains that it should be an exciting year for the 51s.

In northern Nevada, they are also celebrating the upcoming baseball season, because the city has its first AAA affiliate, (for the Arizona Diamondbacks). Reno has been home to other minor league teams, but the Aces will be the highest caliber team to play in the city. The difference is night and day.

Aces general manager Rick Parr told the Lohontan Valley News that he thinks the new team will be a strong enough draw to keep people from heading to California to watch a baseball game.

“You want to see a baseball game, are you going to see the Giants or the A’s or the Dodgers?” he said. “No. What you’re going to do is, if you have a team in your hometown that’s AAA baseball, you’re going to spend a few dollars and come to the ball park and have a good time.

“Once people come out once, they’re going to get hooked on it.”

But the team knows it is going to take more than just being new and having a new stadium to keep people interested. It might be enough to start off on a good note, but it won’t sustain attendance figures throughout the year. To that end, the Aces signed former major league player Brett Butler to manage the team.

“The newness of a first-year team gets things going,” Butler said. “It gets them sparked up and fired up and ready to do the job. But that newness will wear away. If you don’t have a quality product to put on the field, then you’re not going to even need to come to the ball park.

As a manager, it is my responsibility to get them to be the best that they can.”

Like the 51s, it is difficult to say who will be playing for the Aces until spring training ends. But regardless of who is there, Butler expects the team to play solid, fundamental baseball, and he expects that will be a winning strategy.

“The kind of baseball you’re going to see is fundamentally and situationally sound baseball,” Butler said. “The players are going to know how to play the game, and they’re quality people who we’re going to draft in the Diamondback organization.”

For those who prefer the Major League game, Las Vegas delivers with the return of the annual Big League Weekends in March and April. In March, the Chicago Cubs play the Chicago White Sox March 4 at 7 p.m. and March 5 at 1 p.m. In April, the Colorado Rockies play the Seattle Mariners April 3 at 7 p.m. and April 4 at noon.

“We are always excited to welcome Big League Weekend back to Las Vegas, and the 2009 matchups are going to be outstanding,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “With the Cubs and White Sox bringing their cross-town rivalry here and the Mariners taking on the Rockies, baseball fans are going to have a great experience in Las Vegas.”

Both the Las Vegas 51s and the Reno Aces start the season April 9 and will play their first home games April 17. For information on the 51s and Big League Weekend, call 702-798-7825. For information about the Reno Aces, call 775-334-4700.

By Greg Jones

Greg Jones is managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada, as well as associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine.

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