MADISON, Wis. — Lines formed around the block, hours before gates even opened for a summer league baseball game in which fans hardly knew any of the players' names. More than 500 people arrived early, patiently waiting in the afternoon sunlight on that day four years ago — all for an opportunity to eat a dead beetle.
The Madison Mallards baseball organization had hosted some absurd promotions, but this ranked among the most outrageous. Front office personnel prepared enough crunchy critters for 250 people as part of a free all-you-can-eat-and-drink ticket giveaway to a future game. Half the fans in line were turned back.
"We cooked to make sure those beetles were as healthy as they could be," Mallards president Vern Stenman recalled. "It was bizarre."
Welcome to baseball on the northeast side of Madison, where no promotion is too over the top. Wacky marketing schemes are part of the reason Madison is host to the highest drawing collegiate summer league baseball team among more than 250 teams in the country.
"You've just got to keep it fresh," Stenman said. "We have the mentality that we'll try almost anything once."
So far, the approach has worked wonders.
The Mallards blow every other collegiate league baseball team out of the water (pardon the pun) in average attendance. Madison set a new summer league record last season by averaging 6,278 fans per game. The team sold out 26 of its 34 home contests, sometimes with more than 350 fans arriving for standing-room-only seating.
The second-highest attended collegiate summer league team, the La Crosse (Wis.) Loggers, averaged 2,997 fans per game last season.
Of course, what goes on between the lines of play is just the start of the Mallards' appeal. Townspeople are unfamiliar with most players on the team because they play for colleges outside the state of Wisconsin.
"We really see ourselves as an entertainment company," Mallards general manager Conor Caloia said. "Baseball is one of five things going on at any given time. Whether it's live music, a giveaway item or a postgame fireworks show or a unique offering of concession items, it's all part of the fan experience. We just try and entertain and make sure people are having a good time."
With Mallards baseball set to begin a new season May 30, the team has concocted a new batch of promotions. Some of the more amusing offerings include:
• Police appreciation night, featuring a guest appearance from Erik Estrada of the TV show CHiPs.
• Custom Tattoo Night, in which fans of age can receive a free full-color Mallards tattoo before the game. Inked patrons also collect two free tickets to a future game. (The first 500 kids in attendance receive temporary tattoos.)
• An appearance from Dave "The Bullet" Smith Jr., who fancies himself as the Human Cannonball. He'll be shot out of the stadium.
• "Twilight" Night, when fans can meet Alex Meraz of the Twilight movies.
• Midget Wrestler Night, featuring several members of the "Half Pint Brawling Tour."
"Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't," Mallards owner Steve Schmitt said of the promotions. "A lot of clubs throughout the country copy us, and we've copied other clubs. If we had real pure baseball fans that just came to our games, I think we'd be in trouble."
Schmitt said front office personnel often devise promotions over lunch or an evening out.
"We have a couple beers and just have a good time with it," he said.
Though Madison represents the largest city to host a team in the 16-team Northwoods League, Madison has proof that a bigger population doesn't necessarily translate into bigger attendance figures.
Three minor league teams came and went within a 20-year span in Madison. The Madison Muskies played from 1982-93, the Madison Hatters played for one season in 1994 and the Madison Black Wolf played from 1996-2000. None of those teams stuck as attendance numbers sagged.
When Schmitt, an area business owner, brought the Mallards to Madison's Warner Park in 2001, he decided to take a different approach by making the product about more than simply baseball.
"I think we like to create the atmosphere of a state fair," Schmitt said. "There's entertainment throughout the ballpark. Even if a guy doesn't watch baseball, I think he'd be entertained and have a great time there."
Despite a slow start, the Mallards have consistently gained fans.
During the team's first season in 2001, average attendance was 1,039.
"Some of those first few nights, you could count attendance yourself," Schmitt said. "Like 204 people."
By Year 3 of the Mallards experiment, average attendance rose to 4,411. In 2006, the team eclipsed the 6,000-fan plateau, and average attendance has been above that number ever since.
This season, the Mallards have added stadium upgrades to increase the viewing experience — and perhaps garner a few more fans. The stadium holds 6,750 people.
Among the improvements is a grass hill beyond the left-center field wall for families to enjoy the game while seated on a blanket. The 5,000 square-foot area features an 80-foot-long roof that shields fans from sun and rain. Stenman said he picked up the idea after watching a New York Mets spring training game in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Tickets range anywhere from $8 for a spot on the newly built hill to $33 for the all-you-can-eat-and-drink experience.
And if fans don't want to come for the baseball, they can always enjoy everything else the Mallards have to offer.
"We try to have something for everybody," Stenman said. "If that's a 3-year-old kid or a 22-year-old college kid or a young family or retired people -- we have a lot of different ways to enjoy the games."
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