By Gregg Krupa, Globe Staff, 07/07/98
When he saw two dozen stretch limousines pull up outside of Coors Field in Denver, Steve Sabitini became convinced Major League Baseball's All-Star Game was more than just a game.
"They all lined up at the curb, and the doors opened up, and it was all owners of major league teams, some Hall of Famers and all kinds of big shots from companies,'' said Sabatini, who saw the procession while working across the street from the stadium as a waiter at the Breckenridge Brewing Co.
"I grew up watching games in Fenway Park, and this is really a historic event, here,'' said Sabatini, a native of Arlington, and a self-styled baseball guru. "But it's also brought a lot of money into town -- lots of money.''
Indeed it has. According to tourist and hospitality industry officials in several major cities, the showcase of Major League Baseball's most luminous stars has spurred spending of $28 million to $38.5 million annually in recent years.
Officials in Denver have prepared feverishly, eyeing an even higher payout.
In Boston, which will host the 1999 All-Star game, planning is already well under way. The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau projects the city will realize at least $40 million in revenue.
"It's a big economic boost for the city, it's not just an All-Star game,'' said Mayor Thomas Menino, who is in Denver to meet with Mayor Wellington Webb and his staff for advice on hosting the event. "In Cleveland two years ago, it attracted 120,000 people, and Boston is a more attractive destination. So we ought to do better than that.''
Beyond the revenue from tourism, baseball's All-Star game provides a huge civic marketing opportunity. Hundreds of officials from major corporations and their favored customers fly from across the country to attend the game and the large, staged events that now envelop it.
"The bottom line is, in terms of the convention and tourist industry perspective, it'll be another way to show the country and the world what Boston is, and what we can do,'' said Patrick B. Moscaritolo, president and chief executive of the Visitors Bureau.
Officials of the Colorado Rockies and the Red Sox, the local tourist industries, and the city governments in Denver and Boston all say they have had to forge a well-coordinated master plan for both All-Star Games.
Major League Baseball provides a 28-page list of items that the host franchise and city must accomplish -- everything from how to decorate the field and the ballpark to how corporate sponsors of the game may use and display the "marks'' of Major League Baseball and the All-Star game.
Denver and the Rockies have amassed 1,200 to 1,500 volunteers serving as hospitality agents in the airport, hotels, restaurants, information areas and at the ballpark. They are guiding the 100,000 to 150,000 visitors -- two to three times the capacity of Coors Field -- to the myriad of events that form what Major League Baseball likes to call "All-Star Week.'' A similar number of volunteers will be sought in Boston next July.
Events began officially on Friday, but many of the businessmen and team owners were in Denver as early as Wednesday, when Sabatini stood and watched the line of limos roll up to the ballpark. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, tens of thousands of fans attended The All-Star FanFest at the Colorado Convention Center. The FanFest is an amalgam of events and displays arrayed around 300,000 square feet of indoor space that take fans on an extensive, often-interactive tour of the sport. Because far more fans attend All-Star week than can fit into Coors Field or Fenway Park, FanFest and other ancillary events now provide nearly as much of an attraction for visitors as the game itself.
"It's got races, and throwing skills, batting, it has displays about how gloves are made -- on and on. It's terrific,'' said Red Sox spokesman Richard L. Bresciani, describing FanFest. "In Boston, this thing should attract 125,000 people.''
Indeed, Major League Baseball has been an enormous business success in Denver, driving the dramatic revitalization of the oldest section of the city -- the so-called LoDo (Lower Downtown) district, where Coors Field and about 85 restaurants and microbreweries, 20 art galleries and 500 loft apartments have opened in the once-abandoned warehouse district.
Throughout LoDo Friday through tonight, restaurants and bars have been rented out by companies sponsoring private parties for employees and customers.
"We're all psyched up,'' said Sabatini, who helped play host to MasterCard, which rented out the Breckenridge Brewing Co. for a party featuring the club's microbrews and barbeque and pub food. "We close three days a year: Memorial Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. But we're going to close down for MasterCard.''
A few blocks further into the LoDo and away from Coors Field, The Denver Post is sponsoring a party today for employees and readers at the Wynkoop Brew Co. The Post and the Rocky Mountain News compete for the hearts of Rockies fans as they compete for readers. While the News is an official sponsor of the team, the Post likes to call itself "the official sponsor of the fans.'' The Wynkoop was prepared to handle more than 1,000 people at the Post's party.
"You gotta love any event that happens early in the week, if you are a restaurant,'' said Matt McAleer, the Wynkoop's marketing director. "And the All-Star game is always on a Tuesday.''
Denver officials say they hope all of this secures the future of LoDo. The refurbishment of the area has sparkled since Coors Field opened, in part because of spillover parking. Planners intentionally provided parking for only 5,000 cars near the field, so fans park along the streets in LoDo, often eating dinner before games and stopping in for a nightcap afterward.
"It is hot now,'' said Eugene Dilbeck, president and chief executive of the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. "This week it is the focus of national attention.''
Yesterday was MCI All-Star Workout Day, with the long-distance carrier spending a tidy sum to sponsor the day and other companies paying to sponsor individual events, including the Fleer Diamond Skills National Finals, the MCI All-Star hitting challenge and the Service Merchandise Home Run Derby. All of the money from Workout Day goes to charity, with Major League Baseball and the host franchise splitting the donations 50-50.
In Denver yesterday, many fans who could not obtain tickets to the game tried instead for tickets to Workout Day. In fact, with Fenway Park's limited capacity, there is a possibility Workout Day will be close to a sellout next year. And because both stadiums are considered sluggers' parks -- Coors Field because of the thin air at the high altitude, and Fenway because of its cozy confines -- the home run competition is especially popular with the fans.
About 5,000 people also were expected to gather last night at the Denver Performing Arts Complex for the All-Star Gala, featuring food, drink and entertainment, and another 5,000 fans were expected today at the Major League Baseball Pre-Game Celebration.
Officials in Boston are already preparing for many of the same events next year.
Bresciani says the Red Sox have sent 25 employees to Denver to help them conceptualize what the team must do in and around Fenway Park next July. The All-Star Game has not been played at Fenway Park since 1961.
Moscaritolo and a member of his staff, and Robert V. Colarossi, president of the Massachusetts Sports Partnership, are all joining Menino in Denver in anticipation of the work that lies ahead to prepare Boston for next year's event.
Moscaritolo says 18 hotels already have been assembled in Boston to provide 14,000 hotel rooms, and he and Bresciani say the hunt is on for venues large enough to host many of the ancillary events.
"We're already gearing up to provide a really first-class experience,'' Moscaritolo said.
