CBIA BizCast: Play Ball with the Hartford Yard Goats

The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer.

Spring is officially here, and that means the return of baseball to Hartford April 9 as the Yard Goats take on the Bowie Baysox at Dunkin’ Park.

The Yard Goats open the 2024 season on the road with a three-game weekend series against the Portland Sea Dogs.

Looking over Dunkin’ Park in Hartford, general manager Mike Abramson told the CBIA BizCast that he’s ready for the first pitch. 

“It’s always an exciting time of year,” he said. 

“You know, in March and April, hope springs eternal, and we are on the cusp of what I hope will be our best year ever.”

Home in Hartford

Abramson has been with the organization dating back to its days as the New Britain Rock Cats. 

That includes the team’s tumultuous move to Hartford. The team played all of its games on the road during its inaugural season in 2016 after delays building the ballpark.

But since opening its doors in 2017, Dunkin’ Park has become one of the gems of minor league baseball. 

“The first few years were ugly in pretty much every way they could have been ugly,” Abramson said. 

“And then the first few years after the ballpark opened, they were great in every way that they could be great.”

‘Relentlessly Unsatisfied’

Abramson said the team’s success in Hartford comes from a commitment to trying to be the best. 

“From the very beginning, the goal was to have the best ballpark, the best brand, the best staff, the best everything,” he said. 

He said he looks at it like a concert, and from the game to entertainment they try to give fans an experience that “takes them on a journey.”

“The reason that we have been so successful is that we are relentlessly unsatisfied.”

Mike Abramson

“When they leave,” he said, “they feel tired, but they feel satisfied.”

Abramson said the challenge is to maintain that level of excitement year after year. 

“As a business leader and somebody who’s helping to keep that going, you have to keep yourself pumped up for that too, because it’s easy to get complacent,” he said. 

“I think the reason that we have been so successful is that we are relentlessly unsatisfied.”

Focus on Hiring

Abramson gave a lot of credit to the Yard Goats’ success to the organization’s employees.

“They are the most important people in the park, because they’re the touch points for all of the fans,” he said. 

The team has 20-30 full time staff and approximately 500 seasonal employees.

“Any one person working for you who interacts with any one customer can do significantly great things.”

Abramson

“Any one person working for you who interacts with any one customer can do significantly great things,” Abramson said.

He added that the organization puts a focus on hiring people from the Hartford area. 

“Between age, race, religion, every possible thing, our staff come from all walks of life,” he said. 

“And that’s what makes it so special. Because our fans come from all walks of life.”

Fabric of the Community

The ballpark is also home to events throughout the year from charity and corporate functions, to weddings, bar mitzvahs, and high school reunions. 

And the Yard Goats Charitable Foundation runs a number of programs throughout the year including a theater program, a culinary program, and an after school program for students from the Hartford area.

Abramson said becoming part of the fabric of the community was the goal from day one for owner Josh Solomon. 

“Our owner never calls and asks me what sales figures were for the day,” Abramson said. 

“It’s ‘How many kids can the after school program have today?’ or ‘What was the snack at the theater program?’”

Area Development

When Dunkin’ Park was built, it was meant to be the first phase of a major redevelopment of the area.

Abramson said it’s rewarding to see that development taking shape.

The Pennant apartments opened across the street, and crews recently broke ground on another project with apartments, office, and retail space. 

“You’re going to have an entire new several city blocks that weren’t here before,”

Abramson

“The end result is that you’re going to have an entire new several city blocks that weren’t here before,” he said. 

“And in the middle of it is the ballpark, so it’s pretty cool.”

Abramson said before the pandemic, Hartford was at a tipping point for something special to happen. 

He said it feels like things are happening again for Hartford, and it’s special to play a small role.

‘Crowning Achievement’

“This is definitely a crowning career achievement for me,” he said. 

“I knew it was going to be successful. I never could have imagined it would be this successful.”

Part of that success comes from the Yard Goats’ partnerships with Connecticut’s business community. 

“We feel a great responsibility to have it be a magical place for the people who live here.”

Abramson

Abramson said the vast majority of sponsors who started with the team in 2015 are still with them.

He added that there are always opportunities to work with business leaders to create new partnerships. 

“This is a ballpark that’s built in the city of Hartford,” Abramson said. “It belongs to residents of the city of Hartford.”

“We feel a great responsibility to have it be a magical place for the people who live here because it’s theirs and they deserve it to be special.”

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