Offering perks such as tickets is an excellent way for businesses to express appreciation for their employees. And it’s fairly common for companies around Chattanooga to offer seats to Lookouts and Chattanooga Football Club games. But what about The Lookouts and CFC? What does a perk look like when one works for a pro baseball or soccer team? Top executives of both teams offer a peek into their worlds:
ANDREW ZITO, Vice President, Chattanooga Lookouts
One of the things we offer is facility access — you get to come to the ballpark every day, and occasionally you can get on the field to play catch, run the bases or even take some batting practice. When you spend every night working on crafting experiences for fans, it’s nice to be able to get out there and act like a big-leaguer for a little while.
One of my favorite perks is that working for the Lookouts, wearing that logo, makes it possible for you to help make a real difference in our community. You get to interact with players, maybe accompany them to a children’s hospital or a food bank. That’s super powerful, opens a lot of doors and creates memories for people.
DERRALL STALVEY, Senior Vice President, Chattanooga FC
You’ve got front-row seats and practices and games, with access fans can’t buy. You can’t put a value on that. And there’s gear, everything you see in the CFC store. A supervisor will occasionally give a bag or a polo (shirt) to someone who’s done a particularly good job, and every staff member gets season tickets for themselves and one other person.
On game days, the club feeds the staff — a full meal for everyone, before the gates open. And anytime we have a meeting or event for which staff is required to attend, there’ll be food involved. You’d be surprised how far that goes with a young staff.
Finally, after every home game, there’s a postgame for fans, players, coaches and staff at Chattanooga Brewing Co., on Chestnut Street next to the (Finley) stadium. It’s cool to see a player who might have been a hero in that night’s game fist-bumping people from the accounting department.
