Nationals Farm Authority

In 2006, the Potomac Nationals hired Bobby Holland to be their general manager. On August 15, they added Vice President to his title. Bobby was kind enough to sit down with me for an interview about his first year on the job and other things Potomac Nationals related.

Nationals Farm Authority (NFA): How did you get your start in the business of minor league baseball?

Bobby Holland (BH): Minor League Baseball has always been a big part of my life. I grew up in Richmond where my dad took me to lots of Richmond Braves games; I signed up for a lot of the promotions and collected autographs of the Braves prospects. I played baseball through college at Old Dominion where they offered a degree in Sports Management. The last 12 credits were an internship. I applied with the Richmond Braves and was hired as a Ticket Operations Trainee in 1999.

NFA: What was your first full time job?

BH: I was hired by the Potomac Cannons in 2000 as the Director of Ticket Operations.

NFA: Have you noticed any differences in the organization with regards to the different affiliations?

BH: In 2000, the Cannons were affiliated with St Louis Cardinals. But today with the big league club so close, we are getting a lot more fans coming to see the big leaguers rehabilitating. Just this year, we had John Patterson for two starts, Brian Schneider, Jose Vidro, and both Jose Guillen and Pedro Astacio joined us on the road.

NFA: What impact has the presence of the Washington Nationals had on your attendance?

BH: We lost a lot of sponsors and season ticket holders in the first year (2005), but we have saw a nice improvement in the second year, nearly 12,000 more fans showing up for affordable family entertainment, even with the six rainouts we had in 2006. We extended our working relationship this year with Washington through 2010.

NFA: Has the local media coverage changed given the proximity of the big league club?

BH: We are definitely a small fish in a big pond. With all of the local teams in the area, it’s been a challenge. But the Washington Nationals have been great to us. We have down a lot of work promoting the team in Potomac. The Nationals management has had us on the radio several times to promote what is happening down in Woodbridge.

NFA: Speaking of Nationals management, during your time working with Richmond (he returned to Richmond from 2001-2004) what was your experience with Stan Kasten?

BH: The Braves were a first class organization top to bottom. We were in a unique situation where the major league club owned several of their affiliates. Along with Richmond, they owned affiliates in Greenville, Macon, and Danville. We all followed a similar plan. The leadership will carry over. The Nationals have not made many moves at the big league level but they are building up the minor leagues. We should fare well.

NFA: What are your duties as a minor league baseball general manager?

BH: Anything and everything. A lot of people think I’m in charge of player moves; I actually have no say in the personnel decisions. My job is to oversee eight departments that include box office operations, ticket sales, sponsorship sales, food service (Potomac owns their own food business), stadium operations, hiring clubhouse managers, and coordinating team travel from the hotels on the road to the bus transportation. The most important think to remember is not to let your job title get in the way to what needs to be done. I’ve been up on ladders bolting in signs. It’s all necessary to ensure the fans have a good entertainment experience.

NFA: What do you do in the off-season?

BH: Actually, January through April is our busiest time. We figure out what merchandise to sell, recruit our sponsors, sell program ads/billboards, decide upon promotions, hire/train staff, and this year we are in the process of re-designing our website. Once the season starts, it’s mostly ensuring the fans have a good time.

NFA: What are some of your more popular promotions? Any new ones for 2007?

BH: We are in the entertainment business, so we need to do different things to fit different needs. Monday $1 nights are very popular. Our Saturday night fireworks are also a favorite. In my opinion, we have the best July 4th fireworks in Northern Virginia. We expect to release our full promotional calendar in March. The one thing we are really excited about is the return of the San Diego Chicken to Woodbridge. It still isn’t confirmed, but the organization is very excited by the possibility.

NFA: Is there anything else new for 2007?

BH: We ask our fans for suggestions and this year we have some new things. We received numerous suggestions that discussed the traffic challenges faced with our 7:05PM start time. Beginning in 2007, our weekday evening games will now start a half-hour later at 7:35PM. Also, we realized how hot our Sunday afternoon games were in the summer. In 2007, all of our Sunday games from late June through August will now start at 6:05PM.

NFA: How are the plans going for a new stadium?

BH: We are still working with Prince William City and the Prince William County Park Authority. We hope to know by the end of January 2007 if a new ballpark will be available. We are hoping to get it done. Our current ballpark opened in 1984 and it’s showing its age. We want to get a new facility for the fans. We believe this would be very exciting for both the county and the fans.

NFA: What is the plan for the Hot Stove Banquet?

BH: The 12th Annual Hot Stove Banquet is scheduled for January 21. Andy Dunn, Director of Minor League Baseball Operations for the Washington Nationals, is the keynote speaker. He’s going to talk about what to expect on the field in Potomac and elsewhere in the organization. We also have our 2007 manager Randy Knorr coming to discuss his experiences in 2006. He had a very unique year. He spent the first half of the year as our manager in Potomac, but finished off the season as the bullpen coach with the big league club. We also use the banquet as an opportunity to raise money and awareness for a charity. This year we are having a silent auction for Ryan Zimmerman’s ziMS Foundation. The ziMS Foundation is dedicated to the treatment and ultimate cure of Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that has affected Zimmerman’s mother. We’ll have items from MLB, NFL, and minor league baseball among others.

NFA: Thank you for your time.