Who knew so many folks in Chattanooga were going thirsty?
The Chattanooga Lookouts are roaring at the turnstiles through 18 games this spring at AT&T Field, with Friday night fireworks and Saturday's used car giveaways continuing to play a part in what has been a robust average of 4,256 fans per contest.
Yet the biggest jump compared to previous years is transpiring on Thursdays, which have been highlighted by a "Thirsty Thursday" promotion since 2015 and have drawn in excess of 5,000 spectators on all three occasions this season.
"We were forever about family fun entertainment, and we're still about that very much," Lookouts president Rich Mozingo said Monday. "However, we've been working since Jason Freier bought the ball club on reaching out to different demographics. One of the groups we reached out to was that mid-20s group, and for a lot of them, their weekend starts on a Thursday.
"What we've found is a little bit of a niche and have welcomed those people out to the ballpark."
This season's "Thirsty Thursdays" contain $2 drink specials, up from $1 in recent years.
This past Thursday's crowd of 5,792 that watched the Lookouts battle the Mississippi Braves was the second largest of Chattanooga's season, trailing only the sold-out audience of 6,361 for the first fireworks display on April 15. Even more surprising through the first three six-game homestands is that Thursday's average of 5,306 is thumping Saturday's clip of 4,216, which certainly would be an AT&T Field first if that holds.
EARLY WEEKENDS
The average Thursday night attendance figures for the Chattanooga Lookouts since the “Thirsty Thursday” promotion was introduced in 2015:2015 — 2,9402016 — 2,6362017 — 2,6032018 — 3,0902019 — 3,9482020 — No season2021 — 2,329*2022 — 5,306* — The 2021 season contained capped crowds.
Having the stronger three-day surge has enabled the Lookouts to post their highest attendance average through 18 games since at least 2005, which is when Lookouts media relations director Dan Kopf said such records started being kept. The Lookouts may have averaged more than 4,256 through 18 games during the first three seasons of the stadium from 2000-02, because former team owner Frank Burke asked for a minimum of 1,800 season tickets on a three-year commitment and received more than 2,100 in order for the 6,340-seat facility costing $10.2 million to be constructed on the former Hawk Hill.
Of course, the success of Lookouts attendance so far has no bearing on the team's quest for a new $86.5 million venue at the 141-acre former U.S. Pipe/Wheland Foundry site.
"It does not make a difference at all to Major League Baseball," Mozingo said. "They do not care what we do in the seats. What they do care about is the cubhouse size and the shower area size and that sort of stuff. When we first started talking about a new stadium, Major League Baseball would say to us, 'You guys do really good. You draw great.'
"Major League Baseball wants the locker rooms to be the right size. Crowds don't make any difference at all to them."
Although "Thirsty Thursday" was strong from the start from an alliteration standpoint, it was anything but an overnight success. The Lookouts averaged 2,940 Thursday fans during the inaugural year of the promotion, according to Kopf, 2,636 in 2016 and only 2,603 in 2017.
The average improved to 3,090 in 2018 and to 3,948 in 2019, which was the last season that wasn't affected by to coronavirus pandemic until this one.
"We've also done the Most Improved Students and have reached out to the 18 counties around us, which is one of my favorite things that we do," Mozingo said. "That has bumped Thursday's number up a little bit as well. I know Thursday is going to continue to be very healthy for us and continue to grow, but our last Most Improved Student night was this past Thursday, so it will be interesting to see how we shake out moving forward."
Chattanooga's attendance this season has been greatly enhanced by the weather, with team officials having to use the tarp to cover the infield only once. That occurred before this past Saturday evening's game, with Mozingo adding it was only on the field for 45 minutes and that the scheduled 7:15 start was delayed a mere five minutes.
"We've been very fortunate with the weather, but we've also done an awful lot of things to help ourselves be fortunate," Mozingo said. "We came into the year with every single one of our suites full, so we've done the right things to set ourselves up to have success. It's just nice to see the success actually happening right now."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.