August 9, 2006

Volume 5, Issue 14

Contact:  Todd Parnell

                   General Manager

                   Altoona Curve

                   [email protected]

Team: Altoona Curve Baseball Club

Program Title: Frivolous Lawsuit Night

Objective: Increase attendance to the Altoona Curve games at Blair County Ballpark and provide added value to fans with a fun and entertaining theme night.

Program Description: The Frivolous Lawsuit Night, held July 2nd, was inspired by a Los Angeles Angel Fan who decided to sue the club because he failed to receive a red nylon tote bag. The tote bag was handed out, to women only, as the promotional item during the Mother's Day game last May. The Altoona Curve president, Chuck Greenburg (who is also a practicing corporate and sports attorney), thought this could make an interesting theme night.

Frivolous Lawsuit Night consisted of many odd giveaways to start off the game. The giveaways included handing out luke warm coffee so that fans wouldn't burn themselves - a nod to the infamous McDonald's lawsuit where a woman claimed she was scalded by the coffee because it was too hot. The children received inflatable beach balls which included directions of how not to ingest the inflatable device. And in case the men felt left out last Mother's Day, pink tote bags were handed out to the male fans as they entered. Throughout the night, they honored some of history's most "frivolous" lawsuits, passed out Angels memorabilia and even had a 5th inning Pass the Hat fundraiser to raise money for the Los Angeles Angels legal team.

General manager Todd Parnell stated, "We realize that these giveaways as a part of our Frivolous Lawsuit Night are fairly stupid and serve no real purpose, but if our fans don't like them, then they can sue us!"

Altoona Curve President and Managing Partner (and not to mention... instigator of the night), Chuck Greenburg declined to comment on his club's promotion because of concerns that his comments could lead to - what else - a frivolous lawsuit.

Well, this isn't the teams first wildly themed night... The Curve has become widely recognized for their fun, slightly off-the-wall theme nights which include "Awful Night" and the "2006 Retro Celebrity Series" which is currently going on and includes bringing eleven of the most popular names from the pasts most popular shows out to the ballpark during the 2006 season. Some of the names include Jerry Mathers, who played "Beaver Clever," and Barry Williams, better known "Greg Brady." The club was honored by Minor League Baseball as the winner of the 2004 Larry MacPhail Award for promotional excellence among all affiliated minor league clubs.

Results:  The fans seem to like the theme nights at Blair County Ballpark. There was a great turnout for the Frivolous Lawsuit Night and The Curve hopes that the success will continue throughout the summer.

Looking Ahead: The Altoona Curve will continue to think up and execute wacky theme night ideas. The theme nights are extremely entertaining and allow the fans to experience something new (besides the typical promotions like the bobble head doll.) 

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