New York Mets: 5 Creative Ways to Put Butts in Seats in 2012

Being a Mets fan has been difficult over the past few seasons and that has reflected itself in the attendance.

Times are tough, and money isn't flowing in like it used to for most people, so seeing a baseball game is a luxury that a lot of people cannot afford.

Putting a winning team on the field would be the first step for the Mets, but there's only so much that can do. People in New York got hit hard by the recession and they need more than just a winning team to encourage them to spend money when they can just watch games on TV.

The Mets have lowered ticket prices for the second consecutive year and that's a start. However, the conventional methods are all played out. This article will include some regular ideas and some funny ideas that would never happen, but serve more of an entertainment purpose regarding the Mets recent struggles.

Buy 4 Tickets, Get One Free

True, the Mets can't really afford to be giving away free tickets right now, when money is at a premium, but this strategy could actually help.

The Mets didn't sell out much last year, so there were a lot of empty seats in the stadium last year anyway. With this strategy, the Mets wouldn't necessarily make a lot more money, but they would put a lot more people in seats, which would look good for the team.

Ticket giveaways still count as paid attendance, so the Mets attendance numbers would probably move up the charts.

"Be the Mets Trainer Day"

Obviously, this idea is more of a joke, playing on the Mets injury misfortune over the past few years.

It seems as though the Mets are succumbing to injuries no matter who the trainer is. Why not let a random fan get a chance to be the trainer for a day? Who wouldn't wanna get a chance to hang out in the clubhouse for a day and catch a game from the dugout? I'd buy a ticket for that chance, no matter what the odds were.

It'd be pretty simple to do. No one pays for tickets with cash anymore, so the morning of the game, the Mets would just pick a random ticket and then email the person that bought the ticket about their winnings.

Imagine the excitement on that person's face when they get to ice down Johan Santana after a good start.

"$50,000 Pitch" Contest

Other sports, basketball and hockey come to mind, have contests at intermissions during games, giving away prizes to fans for achievements. In basketball, you have the half-court shot. In hockey, fans get a chance to make a shot from center ice through a little slit in a cardboard cut-out placed in front of the net.

Why don't the Mets be the ones to start something like this for baseball? Before each game, pick out a random ticket and go notify that fan that they've won. Then, during the seventh inning stretch, run them out on the field quickly and have them throw a pitch off of the mound at a small target placed on the plate. It can be the same thing as hockey, a large cardboard cut-out that has a hole slightly bigger than a baseball with a net behind it. If the person actually pitches it through the hole, they win $50,000 or you could do a prize like hockey does.

If people can pay $15 for a ticket and get to see a Mets game, but also have a chance to win $50,000, I would guarantee that more people would show up to games.

"Sundae Giveaway Sundays"

This idea is very simple and extremely possible. Sundays tend to be the days that a lot of children are at the ballpark. This is simply because Sunday games are always at one o'clock, with the exception of the lone "Sunday Night Baseball" game.

What the Mets can do is that if they win the Sunday game, every child under the age of 13 gets a free ice cream sundae. This would be essentially the same strategy that fast food giants like McDonalds use. Children are a huge market because if you appeal to them, they ask for the things from their parents. If you get children excited about seeing a baseball game and then possibly getting a free ice cream sundae, it will bring in a lot of money.

This idea also has two good causes. Money will be brought in by more people attending games. Also, it will bring in future money spending fans. At first, children would want to go in order to have a chance at a free ice cream sundae and see the baseball game, but when they get older, the idea would be that they would fall in love with the Mets and continue to come to games.

"Celebrate with the Mets"

This idea is almost like the trainer idea, but this is actually possible. It combines realistic elements from both the "Be the Mets Trainer" idea and the "Sundae Giveaway" idea. During every home Mets game, a ticket is randomly picked early on in the game. If the Mets then proceed to win the game, that fan gets to go into the Mets clubhouse after the game and talk with some of the team.

The reason I say to do this after Mets wins, is because the team probably wouldn't be in the best mood after losses. Also, I realize that the players want to just get moving and get home after games, especially night games, but this could be just a short 20 minute visit, enough to give the fan something to always remember.

People love meeting players and hearing things straight from the mouths of famous athletes, so this would be a big draw. Now, not only do you get to see a baseball game, but you have the chance to meet all the players. It would be a dream come true for a lot of fans.