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October 23, 2017 Newsmakers

Q&A with New Britain Bees' GM Brad Smith

HBJ Photo | John Stearns Brad Smith, New Britain Bees general manager
By John Stearns

Like a relief pitcher brought in with the bases loaded, no outs and asked to shut down the opponent, Brad Smith has a difficult task. He's up to it.

He's the new general manager of the New Britain Bees, which saw its 2017 attendance fall by 20,000 visitors to the lowest in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Opening of Dunkin' Donuts Park, acclaimed home of the Hartford Yard Goats and Double-A Colorado Rockies affiliate, certainly stung, “but we did not do a good enough job selling our own product,” Smith said.

“We need to ramp up season ticket sales and group sales and develop a fun-filled promotional schedule,” he said. “The worst thing you can do is to be boring.”

Smith comes from the Bridgeport Bluefish, which shared an owner with the Bees and played in the same league. Bridgeport, though, chose a new stadium use and the team moved to North Carolina. Smith handled accounting for the Bluefish and helped close the stadium, splitting time with the Bees, where he focused on managing food and beverage operations.

Smith knows baseball. He played shortstop at Middlebury College in Vermont, entered the business side with the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Lookouts (Double-A Minnesota Twins) and shared management/ownership of the Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators (Single-A Chicago White Sox) for 10 years, until 2015, with his father.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your job?

To assemble and develop a sales staff that can lead the Bees to significant attendance growth.

What's the biggest challenge facing the Bees?

To educate the public that Atlantic League baseball is top-notch, comparable to AA and AAA. We have a working agreement with Major League Baseball, so many of our players get signed by MLB clubs.

What's the biggest opportunity you face in your job?

To bring a fresh, energized and experienced perspective to the franchise. The Kannapolis Intimidators situation was similar to here. Our stadium was 20 miles from the Charlotte Knights' new AAA stadium and we were able to run a successful business under these circumstances.

What's the biggest opportunity facing the Bees?

To increase attendance by maintaining our loyal fan base we had in Bridgeport. We are developing a strategy and promotions to hopefully turn Bluefish fans into Bees fans.

How do the Bees plan to compete against the Yard Goats and Dunkin' Donuts Park?

We need to execute our business plan perfectly. Even on nights when we go head-to-head with Hartford, they only hold about 6,000 people. There are more than enough fans to fill New Britain Stadium. It is our job to get them here.

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