20,000 free tickets on sale at local Walmarts as Chicago, St Louis and Boston clubs aim to rev up crowds
The Atlanta Braves are the first team in Major League Baseball’s return to the Fall Classic to carry out an online giveaway of the free postseason tickets of its preferred local customers.
Each Atlanta fan can receive a free pair of tickets to the World Series championship series for games two through seven in Chicago, St Louis and Boston.The Braves sold out each of its first 10 home games during the postseason for the first time in franchise history and achieved the best home record in all of baseball with 25 wins.
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Offering a prize to local fans one day after free tickets were available to everyone at the stadium, the Braves had been offering season-ticket holders the choice of a team-branded iPad mini to display text on, or early access to Wednesday night’s game.
The franchise sent a notification to all season-ticket holders in November when the two-season-long promotion, provided they purchased a ticket before Nov 1, would take effect. As the Super Bowl and NBA finals did in the past, the message said they would have to opt out to retain their seat.
Baseball average attendance hit a record low this season of 23,085 fans per game and playoff attendance was 18,315 – but all home teams averaged more than 40,000, second only to the NFL’s New England Patriots.
Atlanta, which is rebuilding its organization, made the playoffs on a weak National League East division and will open the playoffs with the wild-card winner against the Dodgers. The Braves’ final game of the postseason is on 7 October in the front of the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston.
The Braves limited the nationwide giveaway only to local fans in other cities where they play, and arranged for the free tickets to be distributed at local Walmarts in person.
“We want everyone to be engaged, so we’re very excited that the Braves have already launched a complementary giveaway for Braves fans to win free tickets to Games 2 through 7,” said Stephanie George, the team’s chief marketing officer.
The Red Sox became the only team to win three World Series titles in the 10 years since Atlanta last reached the Fall Classic and lost both of its appearances since. They had the top ticket demand at the game’s highest tier, Major League Baseball said on Monday.
