All-Star Game expected to be third most lucrative sports event in Boston's history

By Gregg Krupa, Globe Staff, 07/08/99

Only two sports events in Massachusetts history are likely to be judged to have had more impact on the local economy: the 100th running of Boston Marathon in 1996 and the Ryder Cup upcoming in September at The Country Club in Brookline.

Major League Baseball's All-Star Game is coming to town, with the opening of the John Hancock FanFest at the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center tomorrow morning. Companies are striving to promote the game and the events surrounding it, hoping to polish their images by association. Tourism officials see a promotional bonanza with an impact long after the last baseball fan leaves town. And observers say the huge event will help the Red Sox demonstrate why they need a new stadium.

''Anyone who thinks sports don't have a financial impact on a city ought to try to get a hotel or restaurant reservation in Boston this weekend. It's going to be impossible,'' said Soosie Lazenby, president of the Massachusetts Sports Partnership, which is organizing 2,000 volunteers to staff the event, including college athletes and Little League players. ''Events like this are good for cities. They show that we can undertake the tremendous collaborative effort that is required and that we're capable of pulling it off.''

Major League Baseball estimates that the game, and five days of events leading up to it, will generate $62 million in the local economy. The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau is more conservative, pegging its estimate at $50 million to $54 million. The 100th Boston Marathon generated $173 million, and the Ryder Cup is expected to generate $150 million, according to Patrick B. Moscaritolo, president and chief executive of the bureau.

Some experts caution that such estimates are inflated, in part because the disposable income likely would have been spent on something else in the local economy if the event had not occurred. But Moscaritolo says he has been conservative in estimating the revenues, and others say that in the summer tourism season a lot of that $50 million to $60 million would not have been spent in the Boston area at all.

''Our biggest dividend is going to come two, three, four, five years from now, when people remember the images they see of Boston on television or their visit here for the game, and they decide to visit again, or for the first time,'' Moscaritolo said. ''About 205 countries around the globe get the television feed

from the All-Star Game and it's broadcast in 12 languages. No convention or visitors bureau has a marketing budget to pay for that kind of exposure.''

The All-Star Game is such a prime attraction for Major League Baseball that, even in cities with much larger stadiums than Fenway Park, officials seek to maximize the opportunity for fans to participate by hosting the FanFest, a Home Run Derby, and eight other events on the days leading up to the game. And with only about 34,000 seats for the game, fewer people will attend it than any All-Star Games since the last one at Fenway Park in 1961.

The Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates 100,000 visitors will come to Boston for the All-Star Game and related events, and that some 80,000 will attend FanFest.

The Red Sox are among the companies leveraging their association with the game and five days of related events. Originally, this year's

game was to have been played in Milwaukee. But it became clear in 1997 that the Brewers' new stadium would not be ready, and the Red Sox, the city, and the convention bu

The Globe's first All-Star Game special section appears tomorrow.

reau were persuaded by Major League Baseball to switch their approach from campaigning for the 2001 game to the 1999 game.

''Usually these games are awarded to teams with new stadiums so they can show them off,'' said a local businessman who works extensively with sports franchises and leagues. ''This time, it is coming to a team that says it needs a new stadium.

''This whole event will demonstrate all of the magic and the big impact that baseball has, at the same time that it provides a great example of why Fenway Park is obsolete,'' he said. For their part, the Red Sox were not saying much about the proposed new ballpark when they talk publicly about the All-Star Game. But they intend to release their financial plan for the proposed stadium soon after the game.

''The Red Sox are just happy to be contributing in our role as a player in the local community,'' said Richard L. Bresciani, vice president of public affairs for the Sox. ''This is the kind of impact a ball club has on a city, and it's part of our financial commitment to the community.''

Other firms are leveraging the game as part of their marketing plans. The official sponsors of the game include Stop & Shop, Century 21, John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., Fleet Financial Group, Gulf Oil, PepsiCo Inc., Anheuser-Busch, and The Boston Globe.

''We think as a leading company in the community a good way to show our leadership is to tie in with premier events that come to town,'' said Terry Vanderwater, vice president of public affairs for Stop & Shop, which has 196 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. ''It's going to be a long time before the All-Star Game is back on the East Coast, so we thought this was a prime opportunity. We think it will sell more products and drive customer loyalty.''

Observers say Hancock is spending $800,000 to $1 million to help finance the John Hancock FanFest, which will cost Major League Baseball in excess of $3 million to produce. Hancock will open FanFest unofficially tonight, with employees invited to visit the interactive exhibits and partake of the full immersion in baseball that the event is intended to produce.

''Hancock has been great, and this is a very important part of All-Star week,'' said Reg Bronskill, the executive producer of FanFest. ''It is a way for Major League Baseball and its partners to expand the All-Star experience to many, many people who could not buy or afford tickets.''

The All-Star Game annually provides Major League Baseball with one of its largest sales of licensed products at a single event. Pro Player, in Hudson, N.H., has been selling shirts, jackets and other products bearing the official All-Star logo for a year.

Officials at Pro Player, the sports licensing division of Fruit of the Loom, say sales have totaled about $2 million to date, including $750,000 to $1 million in sales in June alone.

Meanwhile, Reebok International Ltd. of Stoughton is providing players who are signed with the company and who will play in the game with a new shoe. .

''Every year, we give our players who are selected to play in the game a special shoe,'' said Dave Fogelson, director of public relations for Reebok. ''This year, it is a lighter, leather-colored shoe, sort of brown or tan, with the All-Star logo on the tongue and heel of the shoe.''

This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 07/08/99.