CBA Drawing Interest from Potential Sponsors

With the Inaugural CBA season almost three-quarters of the way through, fan interest is through the roof. Exciting play mixed with the return of genuine emotion to the ballfield has made baseball exciting again. While it’s still far behind the four major US sports, (Football, Basketball, Hockey and Soccer), baseball has surged back up the popularity ladder and firmly into contention.

Rumblings around America’s largest companies are starting to lead on that some CBA clubs may soon have some corporate backing. Teams currently are, for the most part, on a blank slate as far as sponsorships go, but the days of stadiums with names like Target Field, O.Co Coliseum, and Great American Ballpark may be coming back sooner rather than later. It’d be a big boost to a lot of these teams, as many of the clubs will struggle to get into the black after the inaugural season.

One such sponsor is Whole Foods. Founded in Austin, TX, CEO and Co-Founder John Mackey has been very vocal about his support for the Austin Outlaws. “It’s great to have a baseball team here in Austin,” the multi-million dollar executive said, “I’d love to put our name on that stadium. And the jerseys. Hell, can we get it on the baseballs?”

But what do these companies see in the CBA? What makes them different than the doomed MLB?

There’s a clear answer to that question: success in younger demographics. The colorful personalities and quality of the ballplayers have made the interest in baseball for the youth market skyrocket. Also seeing a huge increase over the MLB is the 18-30 market, which projects to nearly double the interest the MLB had in that demographic at the time of its folding.

If the CBA can get young kids to love baseball again, we may be in for a resurgance of America’s greatest pastime.