May 2015
| Business World
23
the field,” he continued. “And we really liked
what Bob and his group came forward with.”
“It was designed in the sense of neighbor-
hoods, we wanted to create different spaces
for all ages,” said Lehner. “We have a very
popular kids’ zone in right field, right next
to the batting cages. As you work your way
around the ballpark, when you get into cen-
ter field, we put a train into the park which
has been a huge hit for us.”
In addition to the train, which offers rides
around the park to both kids and adults dur-
ing games, the Boulders offer the unique ex-
perience they call the Dugout of Dreams. It’s
a complete package which allows fans the op-
portunity to watch the game from an exten-
sion to the home dugout, where fans can in-
teract with the players first-hand. Provident
Bank Park also has a place for beer and music
lovers. Overall, there’s never a dull moment
before, during or after a Boulders game.
“Further down the concourse you get to
our craft beer room which features our two
craft beers being Bottom 9 Beer and 2nd
Base Blonde,” Lehner said. “Then there’s the
Home Plate Plaza, where there’s a lot of ac-
tivities with DJs and bands and things like
that. There’s always entertainment beyond
what’s going on in the game, and we designed
the ballpark intentionally that way.”
CREATING LASTING
MEMORIES
Though as grand and full of entertainment
as a ballpark can be, the experience the fans
leave with is basedmore on the service and at-
mosphere which employees provide. Lehner
has a tremendous wealth of experience in
marketing and branding sports franchises
from the MLB, NFL and the NHL, and he
understands that people truly do make the
difference.
“A ballpark is, at the end of the day, concrete
and steel, and in our case, boulders,” he said.
“But the fact of the matter is that the park
gets brought to life by the way the staff inter-
acts with the customers and fans. We want to
make sure that the fans leave smiling. “
“It’s about having family-affordable fun,”
Lehner continued. ”It’s about helping those
fans create memories, and it starts with the
staff. You have to have a good first impression
in the parking lot, to a good last impression
when that last run gets scored and the Boul-
ders win or the last firework goes off and ev-
