- The Seattle Mariners hosted a Work From The Ballpark Day on September 7th.
- It's the latest tactic in the competition to attract remote workers.
- It comes as Major League Baseball faces a long-term decline in attendance.
Companies, cities, and foreign countries are all competing for the attention of remote workers. It was only a matter of time before a professional sports team joined the game.
On September 7, a Wednesday, the Seattle Mariners hosted a Work From The Ballpark Day during the team's series finale against the Chicago White Sox — becoming the first Major League Baseball team to turn the ballpark into an untraditional coworking space.
For $50, fans received a meal, wifi access, and a seat in the stadium's Hit It Here Cafe located in the second deck beyond right field. The workspace was available from 11:00 AM through the end of the 1:10 PM contest — the average baseball game lasts just over three hours.
While the Mariners fell by the score of 9-6, the franchise won — selling out each of the 150 passes that were made available.
"Looking at people coming out of the recovery, coming out of a pandemic, the number of folks that have gone back to work is still relatively low in the downtown core," Mariners senior vice president of marketing Gregg Greene told MLB.com, adding that the team has an opportunity to "give fans a chance to get out of the home office and get a different experience."
While many US workers have returned to the office as pandemic restrictions have eased, millions are still working remotely at least some of the time — a trend that is expected to persist in the years to come. Faced with the freedom to work from wherever, these workers are evaluating the best offers on the table.
Companies are offering a variety of perks to nudge workers back to the office. Cities are offering monetary incentives to persuade workers with geographic flexibility to pack up and move. Foreign countries are even offering digital nomad visas to entice remote workers and boost tourism. The Mariners opted for a different approach to attract these workers, and other sectors of the economy could join the competition in the years to come.
Baseball's attendance has fallen in recent years
The Mariners currently rank 16th among 30 MLB teams in attendance at roughly 28,000 per game, but there's been a widespread decline in attendance across the sport over the past decade-plus. In 2005, for instance, despite only finishing with a record of 69-43, Seattle averaged over 33,000 fans per contest. Despite having a playoff-bound squad this season, fans aren't coming to the ballpark at nearly the same level — something that surely contributed to the team's willingness to get creative.
That said, mixing business and sports is far from a new concept for the MLB and other leagues. Historically, however, it's come through the sale of premium seats, suites, and boxes to businesses looking to impress clients.
In fact, many sports teams are reliant on these premium tickets for a large share of their ticket revenue. In the NBA for instance, premium seats and suites account for less than 20% of total seats available, but at least 50% of ticket sales, per Sportico.
But while there is surely plenty of business talk in sky boxes across the country, these workers are more likely to be holding a drink than their laptop — making Seattle's offering unique.
The Mariners have no official plans for another Work From The Ballpark day, but they reportedly "want to do it again."
"We received overwhelming positive fan feedback and we are exploring ways to build upon this concept in the future," a Mariners spokesperson told Bloomberg.