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Published Thursday March 9, 2006 Royals see work ahead on fan base BY ROB WHITE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

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As the Pacific Coast League shattered attendance records each of the past two seasons, one of its 16 clubs has seen attendance plateau.

That would be the Omaha Royals, whose new ownership group was announced Wednesday in a press conference. Ivy Walls Management Co. believes it can help give the Royals' attendance a boost.

"It is not things that were not being done," said Alan Stein, the chief operating officer of Ivy Walls. "But we're going to change the tone and the feel a little bit."

Ivy Walls owns the minor league team in Lexington, Ky., Stein's hometown, and is in the process of selling its minor league team in Battle Creek, Mich.

Philadelphia businessman William Shea, the principal owner and chairman of the board of Ivy Walls, was introduced as the new owner and general partner of Omaha's Class AAA baseball club. Stein will be closely involved in the team's management.

The Royals have been trying to generate support for a new stadium since 2003. With seating capacity of 23,145 geared for the College World Series, the Royals believe that Rosenblatt Stadium has outgrown its minor league tenants. The new owners agree.

"As wonderful a facility as Rosenblatt is, it's not perfectly suited, not perfectly ideal, for the kinds of intimate, synergistic fun that we like to have in our company during our game events," Stein said. "It's all about the fan experience. And attendance is reflective of that."

The Omaha Royals drew 303,749 for 71 dates last year, an average of 4,278. The club has not topped 400,000 in attendance since 2000. Sacramento led the PCL last year with more than 750,000 in attendance, and Round Rock and Memphis were near or above the 700,000 mark.

"When you're doing 300,000 fans a year, that's not bad," Stein said. "Is that good for a Triple A market in a great city like Omaha? No it's not. We do not intend to be satisfied at 300,000, but we recognize building fan emotion in a building where you're always going to have 18,000 empty seats, you cannot capitalize on the things that keep fans coming back."

Stein oversaw the construction of Applebee's Park in Lexington and is a proponent of the value of new stadium construction. He promised fans in Battle Creek a new stadium if more than 1,800 season tickets were sold, but that goal wasn't realized.

"I think you will see attendance going up in Omaha," Stein said. "Is it going to get to 400,000, 500,000 or maybe even 600,000 as you might find (elsewhere)? I don't think we'll ever be able to accomplish that where we are. But in a new stadium that is very doable."

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