Jovenitti: Top 10 marketing promotions that will draw fans to PNC Park this season

It’s early April, and that means Pirates fans get to occasionally say, “The Bucs are above… It’s early April, and that means Pirates fans get to occasionally say, “The Bucs are above .500!”

But more importantly, it’s time to plan out your baseball schedule for the summer. We learned last summer that the Pirates are the best team in baseball — when it comes to promotions and marketing. And let’s face it, college students aren’t the most affluent demographic, so what student doesn’t want to take advantage of the Pirates’ giveaways? So let’s see which games would be the best to attend this year to get free stuff.

10. Buc Night — Friday, April 8, vs. Colorado. It’s the second home game of the season for the Pirates, and the team is offering $1 tickets for virtually any seat in PNC Park. Popcorn and hot dogs also cost just a buck. How many other professional sporting events exist for which you can get $1 tickets and food? And it’s the beginning of the season, so the Pirates haven’t been eliminated from playoff contention yet.

9. Reusable Coffee Sleeve — Friday, April 22, vs. Washington. This almost sounds like a bad joke — baseball is so boring that you’ll need coffee. But why not embrace it? How many times have you watched a game on TV and it zooms in on a clearly uninterested spectator? The Pirates have acknowledged the fact that fans might need caffeine, so let’s embrace it.

8. Andrew McCutchen Action Figurine — Saturday, April 23, vs. Washington. McCutchen is one of the better center fielders in the game — which has led Pirates management to pre-emptively quell trade rumors and jokes by saying McCutchen won’t be traded any time soon. This means that the marketing department can safely produce action figurines to hand out to fans.

7. Skyblast Concerts. This year’s concert lineup isn’t quite as impressive as last year’s, but how often do you get to see a live sporting event and a feature concert afterward? The list includes Huey Lewis and the News on June 11, .38 Special on July 9 and Train on Aug. 6. These events are all family-friendly — which, in Super Bowl-halftime talk means that only people who consciously remember the last time the Pirates had a winning season will know all of the songs.

6. 1971 Ceramic Stein — Tuesday, June 21, vs. Baltimore. It’s 2011, which means that the Pirates can celebrate another anniversary of a championship. This year’s it’s the 40th anniversary of the 1971 World Series win. What college student wouldn’t want a free ceramic stein mug? I’m personally looking forward to the 33rd anniversary celebration of the 1979 City of Champions.

5. 1971 Championship Canvas Wrap — Monday, June 20, vs. Baltimore. While stein mugs are great, the canvas wraps that the team has been handing out are of surprisingly high quality. The photo of the 1971 World Series celebration is printed on a canvas and wrapped around a frame that is perfect for hanging on the wall. So if you just moved to Pittsburgh for school, you can make it seem like you’ve always been a Pirates fan and that you remember when they actually appeared in the playoffs — when you were approximately 3 years old.

4. Free Shirt Fridays. If there’s one thing college students love more than complaining about being broke, it’s free T-shirts. Now there are many places to get free shirts, including other city sporting events. But with most other giveaways, the shirts only come in one size: XXXXXL, I think. Although it’s fun to sit in the stands and see how many normal-sized people you can fit in the shirt, the free shirt will likely never be worn again. But the Pirates actually have different sizes sometimes, so you might even be able to wear it after the game.

3. Reversible Floppy Cap — Monday, July 4, vs. Houston. Unlike the shirts that might actually fit, this stars-’n’-stripes floppy hat — the kind you might wear fishing — might never be worn again after the game. But after sitting in the baking sun for the Fourth of July game last year, I would have truly enjoyed a floppy cap. Besides, there’s no greater way to celebrate the United States’ birthday than sporting cheesy red-white-and-blue headwear while watching America’s pastime.

2. Fan Jam with the Steve Miller Band — Saturday, Sept. 24, vs. Cincinnati. This is a new addition to the promotion schedule. The Steve Miller Band will play a concert after the game. And unlike the Skyblast concerts, the Steve Miller set won’t be interrupted by gigantic fireworks displays. Fans can actually focus on the music — and save the fireworks for the top of this list.

1. Fireworks. I’m sure you’ve all seen plenty of fireworks displays. And the best are obviously on the Fourth of July. But if it’s a random Saturday in the summer, I doubt you’ll find anywhere else to see a pyrotechnic display as impressive as the ones put forth on the Allegheny River alongside PNC Park. The first one is this Saturday, and the explosions continue throughout the summer.

There you have it. Now you have reasons to go Pirates games. And who knows, maybe this is the year …