Make Your Stadium More Fan-Friendly – Ideas from top General Managers

Back in 2001, a marketing agent created loads of hype for the Baltimore Ravens when they faced off against the New York Giants during the Super Bowl in Tampa. The hype was created by placing tons of Ravens advertising support all along the route from the airport to the stadium, to the effect that then-president of the Ravens David Modell said that “it really made the players feel like they were at home, that this was a home game.” While this was the Raven’s first time at the Super Bowl, they certainly didn’t act like it, destroying the Giants in the process.

Peace, Love, Spirit!

While it’s certainly true that in the minor leagues (and high school or grade school), there’s no event with quite the away game/home crowd draw like the Super Bowl, promotional directors and general managers still have plenty of advice to give.

Keep it fun and affordable

Paul Taglieri, general manager of the St. Lucie Mets, says that “We’ll do basically anything as long as it’s not stepping over the line that we draw for ourselves. We just try to stay with fun, family, affordable-type atmosphere. That’s where our promotions are centered.”

Theme night

In that vein, one of the promotions the St. Lucie Mets undertake is 70s night, complete with 70 cent dogs and drinks, and fans are encouraged to wear clothing mimicking the look of the 70s. You could make your theme night stand out a Tie Dye or 80s Water Bottle Label. Perhaps offer drink refills for 80 cents for fans with a theme night stadium cup.

Light it up!

Oklahoma Sooners encourage their baseball fans on “Cheer like a Champion” night, handing out special spirit apparel to the first 50 fans in the door, encouraging team support. You could recreate that with personalized #1 Spirit hand mitts.

Make it a holiday

Celebrate Earth Day like the Sooners and other college and national teams, and have personalized travel mugs for cold or hot drinks.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day! Get the crowd going with these green hand clapper necklaces and inflatable bam bams.Use green drink cups for refreshments and don’t forget to offer special treats for those wearing green (or your team colors), like fun lighted spirit poms or lucky candy bars.

Be a helper for your mascot!

How old is your mascot?

Finally, the St. Louis Cardinal’s celebrate Fredbird’s birthday – why not celebrate your mascot’s birthday? It’s a terrific crowd draw for a theme as well as providing great incentive to get pumped up during halftime. Make a week out of it like the Cardinals.  Students can walk in under a reusable archway and compete to become the mascot’s helper, as he probably needs it in his old age.  Finally, the night of the big game (and the big birthday bash!), create a banner for your mascot to run through as your fans herald the mascot (and your team) with fun stadium horns.

Spirit Day Dress Up Ideas

Some spirit days, such as school color days, are based on long tradition. Other times you might want to shake things up a little, and we hope this post helps get the creative juices flowing.

Colorful Additions
While school color spirit ideas are popular for game days, there’s no reason not to incorporate them into other spirit day themes.

For example, mustache parties have led to mustache day spirit days and you are no longer limited to black fake mustaches but can choose from eight additional colors. Imagine each class in a different color mustache!

The same goes for Crazy Hair Day and selection of spirit wigs (or Bling Strings if you are looking to be a wee bit more subtle), or adding colorful spirit apparel to Twin Day or Hat Day.

Mascot Madness
A mascot-based spirit day is closely related to color days so this is another time to add a little school color, perhaps by wearing a western bandanna or temporary tattoos.

If you happen to be a proud cowboy or pirate, hats are a natural consideration; and a little face paint from Team Supplies can help you give tigers or lions a little stripy or whiskery goodness.

Dance Theme Days
We highly recommend taking a look at event themes for ideas about spirit days and dressing for them. This is especially true if there’s a dance involved. The La Jolla Country Day School held a homecoming dance with an Underwater event theme this year, and the school’s Personal Flotation Device Day during Spirit Week tied in beautifully – and hilariously!

Western, Glow and Hip Hop themes are also dance themes that have lots of fab possibilities as spirit days, too.

History is Fun
There are a bunch of different ways to create a “blast from the past” in spirit and dress. There are at least five fun decades to celebrate, from 1920s Jazz Age themes to 1980s Punk, Glam and New Wave scenes.

Some schools don’t limit themselves to just one decade; they choose a different decade for each class or just tell everybody to dress as their favorite decade.

No matter which way you go, a decade spirit day is a great excuse for the fun of digging for sartorial treasures in parents’ or grandparents’ closets and then finishing a rad outfit with accessories from wearable favors such as feather boas and sunglasses.

Has your school had a spirit day that was particularly unusual or fun? If so, please share in the comments!

School Spirit Ideas for Prom Week

As the school year winds down and prom draws near, working school spirit activities into your Prom Week can boost both fundraising and fun.

Raise Money with Spirit: If you’re looking to raise some last-minute funds for your prom or after prom, spirit activities can often double as fundraisers. Sell spirit items such as rubber wristbands or lanyards to raise money for the prom. Choose designs that match your prom theme so the spirit item doubles as fan gear and a keepsake of prom week. If you’re hosting a junior-senior prom, select two designs and make the sales a competition between the classes.

Safe Drivers with Spirit: Incorporate school spirit into your prom safety campaign. Order car decorations such as antenna balls, magnets, or car flags with your school mascot or prom logo on them and pass them out to students when they sign the Prom Promise or another contract to practice safe behavior on prom night. The spirit car gear can double as a reminder on prom night and a school spirit decoration afterward.

Mysterious Prom Décor: Make your prom an ongoing mystery. Swear your prom committee to secrecy and keep your prom theme confidential until prom week. Order a series of prom banners and hang a new one each day, revealing clues about the theme. On the day of the prom unveil the theme. The suspense will add buzz to your event and create lasting memories.

Prom Assembly: Get the whole school involved with the prom royalty. Hold an assembly to announce your prom court! Save revealing the king and queen for prom, but instead of announcing your nominees in a simple announcement, hold a ceremony! Set up Grand March decorations (which you can reuse for the big event) and announce the prom court in front of the whole school. Suprising the court in a big ceremony will make the nomination an event they’ll cherish forever. Plus, the pomp and circumstance will create more fun build-up to the prom for the student body.

Tattoo Tickets: Temporary tattoos make fun, inexpensive tickets to your after prom. Sell temporary tattoos to underclassmen and prom guests as admission to the afterprom. The spirit tattoos make great reminders for days to come.

Check out all of our school spirit tips and prom supplies at Stumps Spirit!