Phillies, region to score in extra revenue

Sam Marks wasn't waiting. With his beloved Phillies back in the World Series for the first time in 15 years, Marks was at Citizens Bank Park yesterday, spending nearly $300 on World Series team jerseys for himself and a buddy and a T-shirt for his wife.

"I've been waiting 25 years for them to win the World Series," said Marks, of Oxford Circle. The Philadelphia firefighter still remembers the tough loss to Toronto in 1993 and is ready to take long-awaited revenge on Tampa Bay.

Win or lose on the field, the Phillies and the region are counting on a victory in revenue, with the area expected to gain as much as $20 million from increased spending and taxes during the team's postseason run, according to estimates by the Philadelphia Sports Congress.

For the Phillies, some of the benefits are obvious, such as extra ticket sales and TV revenue. At Citizens Bank Park yesterday, others were plainly in the works:

Expanded menus are being prepared, with new premium items such as a $16 crabcake-sandwich platter, and others geared specially for fall weather, such as a $5 cup of chili and a $3 hot cider.

Twenty-five portable concession stands are being added to sell more food, and six extra temporary stands will hawk merchandise.

The main Majestic Clubhouse Store is being stocked with new clothes and souvenirs branded with a special logo: "World Series Fall Classic 2008."

Off the field, much of the real work at Citizens Bank Park is handled by Aramark Corp., the Philadelphia company that provides exclusive food and merchandise services at the ballpark and similar services at more than a dozen Major League Baseball parks and more than 100 other major sports and concert venues - including Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Eagles, and the Wachovia Center, where the Sixers and Flyers play.

Aramark's role at all three venues both adds to the difficulties it faces and helps the company adjust, said Aramark regional director Brian Hastings.

On Saturday night, the Phillies and the Flyers will play overlapping games. But the biggest crowds are expected Sunday, when the Eagles play an afternoon game at the 65,000-seat Linc, and the 20,000-seat Wachovia Center hosts an evening concert by the Who.

"Sunday's the day we're really focused on as a logistical challenge," Hastings said.

Aramark, with about 250,000 employees and clients in 19 countries, is used to such tasks. This summer, about 7,000 Aramark employees provided food services in China for the Summer Olympics.

To handle Sunday's peak needs, Aramark will move a contingent of Linc staffers to the baseball park once the Eagles game ends. The company also plans to bus in about 100 employees from the New York area, and relocate 50 extra managers from cities as far away as Denver.

All told, Aramark will have about 1,200 people on hand at Citizens Bank Park, 50 percent more than at a regular-season game, to handle the game itself as well as special events such as the Roberto Clemente Party, where an annual award is given to a player who demonstrates the community-service values for which the Pittsburgh star was known.

Hastings said baseball crowds were different from those at other sports, largely because of the pace of the games.

"We call it an eating sport, because there are so many options for when to get food: before the game, between innings," he said. By contrast, he said, hockey fans don't want to leave their seats except between periods.

For the World Series, Aramark expects an increase in food sales of about 10 percent compared with normal sold-out games, with fans arriving early to eat so they will not miss the on-field festivities.

Although the concessionaire hopes to make extra money from selling new premium items, the price of regular fare will not change, Aramark says.

The story is different for souvenirs. When it comes to World Series memorabilia, Phillies fans will pay more than ever.

An authentic baseball cap with a World Series patch? Expect to pay $40.

An authentic Chase Utley jersey with a patch? That goes for $209.

Even the smallest items get the Fall Classic markup. A mini-bat that sells for $8 most of the year will go for $12 with the World Series logo, said Maria Schaeffer, who oversees retail sales at the ballpark.

"Major League Baseball gets a royalty," Schaeffer said. "The more logos you apply, the more the royalty."

Aramark and the Phillies stand to benefit, too, of course.

Schaeffer said the World Series was expected to add "maybe $4 million or more in extra sales" from Phillies merchandise, not just at the ballpark, but at six temporary locations around the city, including the Kimmel Center and the National Constitution Center.

And if the Phillies win, fans will be lured with an entirely new set of memorabilia with yet another logo: World Series champions.

Sam Marks, for one, is counting the days. "Phillies in six," he says.