The youngest fans for any sport are the most important fans.
They are the future supporters of a team or a sport. So, what happens when a
team treats them like second class citizens? They feel belittled and
unimportant to the franchise. The St. Louis Blues have not been known for their
child friendly environment and while they host various activities for kids,
they do not cater to the young fan.
This season is especially worse for the young fans who
desperately want to support their favorite players on the ice and dream of
being in the arena when the Stanley Cup is finally hoisted by a player wearing
a Blues jersey. But this season, parents better be prepared to shell out more
money for their children to belong to the exclusive Blue Note Kids Club. A club
that boasted in years past a small welcome pack of some type of cheap
memorabilia, two tickets very cheap tickets to a select home game and a chance
to take a shot on goal on the ice after a select home game. Wow! Impressive
stuff here! The organization must have truly been proud of their offerings to
the young fans.
Before training camp has even begun the Blues have been
sending out promotional emails and proudly posting on their website that they
have the “Coolest Club in Town” and encourage parents to sign their children
up. Last season the price for such an exclusive club was $25.00. This year
inflation must have finally caught up with the organization because parents can
pay $35.00 and their children can be “All-Star Members”. This sounds pretty
cool, except for the $10.00 price jump. But when you read what an All-Star
Member really is, it does not sound so cool. As an All-Star Member, a child
receives a Kid’s Club Membership Pack and access to all Kid’s Club events, but
no events are listed. My question would be what are these amazing events that
the kids have access to as an All-Star Member?
The kicker, however, was that if parents did not like the
All-Star Member choice, they could fork out a whopping $65.00 and their child
could then be a “Hall of Fame Member”. That sounds fantastic! Except in
reality, it is the same exact deal that kids got last season for the $25.00
price. Hall of Fame Members will receive a Kid’s Club Membership Pack, access
to all Kid’s Club events, have a chance to participate in an on ice shot on
goal and will receive two tickets, Mezzanine Level, to a select home game. For
those who want their membership pack mailed to them, it is an additional
$15.00. Surely the United States Postal Service is not charging that much to
ship a small package within the St. Louis area and surrounding counties.
To recap, the Blue Note Kids Club All-Star Member must pay
$35.00 plus shipping, if desired. That is $50.00 total. Or they can be Hall of
Fame Members for $65.00 plus shipping, if desired, for a grand total of $80.00!
The St. Louis Cardinals, who are ten time World Series
Champions, do not even charge this much for their Cardinals Kids Club. For
$30.00, young Cardinals fans receive two tickets to home game, one-of-a-kind
promotional items, access to a members-only party at the stadium complete with
games, autographs, snack and the mascot and they get special offers throughout
the season. Shipping is available for their membership packs for an additional
$5.00 which is much more believable!
How is it that a baseball team who is classified as one of
Major League Baseball’s finest be able to offer so much more to their young
fans? The Cardinal’s organization has figured out that the young fans are the
future of the team. When the young fans feel valued, they will be loyal to the
team as they grow and become paying fans. The St. Louis Blues have not figured
out that making children feel unwelcome is detrimental to the team and to the
sport. This is a team that has yet to bring its fans a Stanley Cup. It is a
team that has been ousted ungracefully from the playoffs several years in a
row. A team that in the off-season traded a fan favorite player and refused to
re-sign another fan favorite player. This is a team that is not in a position
to demand $35-$65 for a kids club.
The Blues need a reality check! How many working class
parents are going to spend the money they are demanding for a subpar kids club?
I wonder if they will ever figure out how to truly cater to the young fan and
make them feel like a special part of the organization.
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