February 7, 2008...10:58 am
Theo Epstein
It is a cold, dreary day in Portland, Maine. The chance of rain is great enough that a tarp is covering the field at Hadlock. Hadlock Field is a miniature Fenway Park displaced a hundred miles to the north of Boston. The year is either 2003, 2005, 2007, or 2009, but the story is the same. The Portland Sea Dogs are the hottest ticket on the town and the hottest ticket in all of AA baseball. In 2003 a franchise record of 6,231 fans per game is set. In 2004 this AA affiliate of the Red Sox set a attendance record with just under half a million fans coming to Hadlock. In 2006 they break the 2003 record for average attendance with 6, 290 fans per game. In 2005 they add 390 new seats in answer to higher demand. Over that period they held the highest attendance record throughout all of AA baseball.
The good people of northern New England flocking to Hadlock. Why? Are there no restaurants open past 6:00 in Portland? Hardly. There all the dining options of any small to medium city could offer, even extending to fine Eritrean cuisine. Are people attracted by the Fenway-esque Green Monster, Citgo sign, and Coke bottles that adorn the stadium? Possibly, but in the end there still a wall, a sign and a giant bottle. So what is the magnet that draws in the New Englanders?
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