The Chattanooga Lookouts entered 2018 as the defending Southern League co-champions after defeating the Montgomery Biscuits in the Southern League North Division Championship Series. The Lookouts shared the title with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos after the Southern League Championship Series was canceled due to Hurricane Irma.
The Lookouts failed to gain an opportunity to defend that title after finishing third in the first-half and fifth in the second-half. The season finished with a 62-72 win-loss record which netted their first last-place finish in the North Division since 2013.
Koelle - Chattanooga Lookouts Looking to Avoid First Last Place Finish Since 2013
Christian Koelle caught up with Hardball Capital CEO Jason Freier, owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, to speak about the future of the Lookouts in Chattanooga and the successes of the 2018 season. 2018 was Freier's fourth year over the Chattanooga Lookouts and was the fourth year of the Minnesota/Chattanooga Player Development.
A - “100% likely. We are not selling the team. And we love Chattanooga. We think it is a great town and a great market for Minor League Baseball. We have over 15 local owners and have worked hard to be a part of the Chattanooga community. The Lookouts aren’t going anywhere.”
Koelle - New Orleans Could Be Next City to a Have Southern League Team by 2021
Q - “How is the progress of the new stadium and are there any updates on how this process is going?”
A - “All of that is still just in the conceptual stage. We know we will be at AT&T Field for at least the next couple of years, and maybe well beyond that. We think there will be a great opportunity, at some point, to build a new facility in Chattanooga, as the catalyst for a mixed-use development. The goal of such a facility would be to help spur development of an underutilized area, to allow us to offer a greatly enhanced fan experience for baseball and to help us attract and host many other sorts of events beyond Lookouts games. When the right time for that will be, only time will tell.”
Q - “Can you comment on the state of the team in the fourth year of the deal and what do you see that needs to be done to improve in 2019?”
A - “We are pleased with where the team is at this point. Since we took over the team about 3½ years ago, we have made a tremendous number of upgrades and other changes to the ballpark and the operation. We have completely re-done all of our suites, we built a two-tiered deck in the left field corner, we added a new video board that is several times the size of the original and upgraded the camera set-up, we refreshed the team’s branding, bought all new uniforms and re-did all of the signage around the ballpark. We also have done lots of things folks don’t see as readily, such as bought lots of new concessions equipment (allowing us to offer a better quality and wider variety of food options) and increased the size of the team’s staff.”
Q - “Can you talk about the improvements the organization made otherwise, despite the fact that the team missed the playoffs?”
A - “See above for the improvements. As far as missing the playoffs, we have been fortunate enough to win two Southern League championships in the four years we’ve owned the team (after it being more than 20 years since Chattanooga’s last championship). We know we can’t win every year, so we focus on making the ballpark as great as it can be, providing top-notch entertainment, customer service, food options and the like. Those things are more within our control than winning and losing, so that is where we strive for consistent excellence. The feedback we’ve gotten from our fans, over the past few years, has been incredibly positive on that front.”
Q - “How pleased are you with the attendance this year compared to previous years. Did the organization do anything different this year to draw in new fans?”
A - “On some of the new promotions, see below. We also improved our in-game entertainment, largely due to our being able to better use our new video board and camera system (we had those installed just prior to the 2017 season—during 2017 we experimented a bit and developed proficiency maximizing the benefits of the new technology, I think we really started to see more benefit in terms of the fan experience in 2018). As far as attendance overall, we had another solid year, despite some pretty challenging weather (this was a particularly stormy spring and summer).”
Q - “Speaking of promotions, what were some of the most popular promotions did the organization have this year? Did the organization meet the goals that were set with those promotions?”
A - “We continued our most popular promotions from previous years, things like Fireworks and Used Car Night (on the latter we gave away a record 13 cars and drew a season-high crowd of 6,387). We also continued our Star Wars Night, presented by the Hydrocephalus Association, and our Superhero Night, presented by the Epilepsy Foundation of SETN. Each of those approached 6,000 fans this year and both featured character appearances and special themed jerseys that were auctioned off (with the proceeds benefitting the respective foundations).
We also added new programs such as our highly successful Hispanic Heritage Day. That was a partnership with La Paz, a local non-profit cultural center. The team wore specialty jerseys for that game, with flags from Spanish-speaking countries all over the world. The jerseys were auctioned off after the game, with all proceeds going to La Paz. Another popular promotion was stepping up our Thirsty Thursdays, adding dollar beer options all game long. That was (as cheap beer always seems to be), very well received.”
Q - “I noticed in a few of my trips to AT&T Field this year the new partnerships on the outside wall. What is the overall feedback from those partnerships?”
A - “I believe that you are referring to the suite level partnership that we established with Erlanger Health System. In addition to the signage visible from the exterior of the ballpark, Erlanger has done some great things like adorning the doors of each of our suites with photos of local kids who were treated at Erlanger (decked out in Lookouts gear, of course). That is both a wonderful thing for the kids and a great way to remind all of the individuals and businesses who attend games in our suites during the year what a vital role Erlanger plays in the community. Overall, we have received tremendous feedback from this partnership and we are honored that such a venerated institution has chosen to support the Lookouts and our mission (as we do theirs). We are thrilled to be their partner.”
The Walk-Off Sports Report will continue to cover the Chattanooga Lookouts along with the entire Southern League in 2019. Affiliation news is expected to come out of the Chattanooga Lookouts, Pensacola Blue Wahoos, and Tennessee Smokies organizations within the coming weeks. Stay tuned to the Walk-Off Sports Report for more news concerning the Southern League.
The Lookouts failed to gain an opportunity to defend that title after finishing third in the first-half and fifth in the second-half. The season finished with a 62-72 win-loss record which netted their first last-place finish in the North Division since 2013.
Koelle - Chattanooga Lookouts Looking to Avoid First Last Place Finish Since 2013
Christian Koelle caught up with Hardball Capital CEO Jason Freier, owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, to speak about the future of the Lookouts in Chattanooga and the successes of the 2018 season. 2018 was Freier's fourth year over the Chattanooga Lookouts and was the fourth year of the Minnesota/Chattanooga Player Development.
Q-and-A with Jason Freier, CEO of Hardball Capital
Q - “Due to recent reports that New Orleans investors are looking into a Southern League team to replace the departing Baby Cakes, How likely is it that the Lookouts will remain in Chattanooga for the foreseeable future?”A - “100% likely. We are not selling the team. And we love Chattanooga. We think it is a great town and a great market for Minor League Baseball. We have over 15 local owners and have worked hard to be a part of the Chattanooga community. The Lookouts aren’t going anywhere.”
Koelle - New Orleans Could Be Next City to a Have Southern League Team by 2021
Q - “How is the progress of the new stadium and are there any updates on how this process is going?”
A - “All of that is still just in the conceptual stage. We know we will be at AT&T Field for at least the next couple of years, and maybe well beyond that. We think there will be a great opportunity, at some point, to build a new facility in Chattanooga, as the catalyst for a mixed-use development. The goal of such a facility would be to help spur development of an underutilized area, to allow us to offer a greatly enhanced fan experience for baseball and to help us attract and host many other sorts of events beyond Lookouts games. When the right time for that will be, only time will tell.”
Q - “Can you comment on the state of the team in the fourth year of the deal and what do you see that needs to be done to improve in 2019?”
A - “We are pleased with where the team is at this point. Since we took over the team about 3½ years ago, we have made a tremendous number of upgrades and other changes to the ballpark and the operation. We have completely re-done all of our suites, we built a two-tiered deck in the left field corner, we added a new video board that is several times the size of the original and upgraded the camera set-up, we refreshed the team’s branding, bought all new uniforms and re-did all of the signage around the ballpark. We also have done lots of things folks don’t see as readily, such as bought lots of new concessions equipment (allowing us to offer a better quality and wider variety of food options) and increased the size of the team’s staff.”
Q - “Can you talk about the improvements the organization made otherwise, despite the fact that the team missed the playoffs?”
A - “See above for the improvements. As far as missing the playoffs, we have been fortunate enough to win two Southern League championships in the four years we’ve owned the team (after it being more than 20 years since Chattanooga’s last championship). We know we can’t win every year, so we focus on making the ballpark as great as it can be, providing top-notch entertainment, customer service, food options and the like. Those things are more within our control than winning and losing, so that is where we strive for consistent excellence. The feedback we’ve gotten from our fans, over the past few years, has been incredibly positive on that front.”
Q - “How pleased are you with the attendance this year compared to previous years. Did the organization do anything different this year to draw in new fans?”
A - “On some of the new promotions, see below. We also improved our in-game entertainment, largely due to our being able to better use our new video board and camera system (we had those installed just prior to the 2017 season—during 2017 we experimented a bit and developed proficiency maximizing the benefits of the new technology, I think we really started to see more benefit in terms of the fan experience in 2018). As far as attendance overall, we had another solid year, despite some pretty challenging weather (this was a particularly stormy spring and summer).”
Q - “Speaking of promotions, what were some of the most popular promotions did the organization have this year? Did the organization meet the goals that were set with those promotions?”
A - “We continued our most popular promotions from previous years, things like Fireworks and Used Car Night (on the latter we gave away a record 13 cars and drew a season-high crowd of 6,387). We also continued our Star Wars Night, presented by the Hydrocephalus Association, and our Superhero Night, presented by the Epilepsy Foundation of SETN. Each of those approached 6,000 fans this year and both featured character appearances and special themed jerseys that were auctioned off (with the proceeds benefitting the respective foundations).
We also added new programs such as our highly successful Hispanic Heritage Day. That was a partnership with La Paz, a local non-profit cultural center. The team wore specialty jerseys for that game, with flags from Spanish-speaking countries all over the world. The jerseys were auctioned off after the game, with all proceeds going to La Paz. Another popular promotion was stepping up our Thirsty Thursdays, adding dollar beer options all game long. That was (as cheap beer always seems to be), very well received.”
Q - “I noticed in a few of my trips to AT&T Field this year the new partnerships on the outside wall. What is the overall feedback from those partnerships?”
A - “I believe that you are referring to the suite level partnership that we established with Erlanger Health System. In addition to the signage visible from the exterior of the ballpark, Erlanger has done some great things like adorning the doors of each of our suites with photos of local kids who were treated at Erlanger (decked out in Lookouts gear, of course). That is both a wonderful thing for the kids and a great way to remind all of the individuals and businesses who attend games in our suites during the year what a vital role Erlanger plays in the community. Overall, we have received tremendous feedback from this partnership and we are honored that such a venerated institution has chosen to support the Lookouts and our mission (as we do theirs). We are thrilled to be their partner.”
The Walk-Off Sports Report will continue to cover the Chattanooga Lookouts along with the entire Southern League in 2019. Affiliation news is expected to come out of the Chattanooga Lookouts, Pensacola Blue Wahoos, and Tennessee Smokies organizations within the coming weeks. Stay tuned to the Walk-Off Sports Report for more news concerning the Southern League.
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