So on Friday, a professional organization Im in met up at GABP for our monthly meeting. We have been recently touring different businesses to see their management practices, business plan, meet with executives, etc. Well this month we were given a tour of the GABP facility by a GABP staff member, as well as having the pleasure of Phil Castellini presenting to us.
We had about 50 of us in total and the tour started out with a walk-through of the corporate offices, and then we ventured down to the bottom of the stadium and toured the inside of the Diamond Club seats. I had never been down there and it's VERY cool. From there we went back upstairs and toured a few of the different suites, press box, 700WLW booth, Riverfront Club, Machine Room, etc. All very cool especially the areas I hadn't seen before.
From there we went into a conference room where we had a presentation from Phil Castellini. He went into a bit of their family history, and how they got associated with investing in baseball. They had previously been involved with G.W. Bush + Rangers, Jocketty + Cardinals, and then the Reds. They KNOW how to build a winning team, and the most key thing I noticed was you can easily tell Phil and his family, as well as the entire owner group are FANS. Moving through the presentation there was some more history, business information, business strategies about ballpark ROI, etc. It's really cool to see all the nuts-and-bolts of ballpark business that you'd never even begin to think about.
After the presentation, there was a short Q&A session. Some questions were completely ridiculous, but Ill paraphrase a few of the others:
Q: "Whats the worst part of your job?"
A: "When the team blows @$$ and you can't do anything about it. People are still grinding and working their hardest, but at the end of season we have nothing to show for it. That's the worst, and we're trying our hardest to eliminate that from happening."
Q: "What has been your best memory working in baseball so far?"
A: "Easily. The clinch night. No matter if we're winning or losing, people behind-the-scenes are busting their butts to make everything perfect. However, when we are a division winner for the first time in 15-years, that's something special. I'll never forget that night."
Q: "When are you guys going to buy the Bengals?"
A: *after laughter tapers down* "You know, you say that joking, but there would be a big change in the business management style for the Bengals organization. We would implement a lot of the same practices that have worked well for us with the Reds organization. We already have a head-start with the Reds, and we know, to a degree, what does and does not work. We'd attempt to best shadow those practices, while slightly adapting them to best fit the Bengals mold. With all that being said, that won't happen in my lifetime, for obvious reasons."
^^You could EASILY tell they've thought about it.
All in all, a VERY cool afternoon, and Im very appreciative for the opportunity. Phil was a very nice and down-to-earth guy that was a lot more laid-back than I would have thought. Just thought Id share. I think I was the only Reds "nut" in attendance, but I absolutely ate it up.
Edit: Also, that would be THE best job ever. I cannot stress enough how much Id thoroughly love working for the Reds/in baseball to some capacity. So, if someone from the FO is reading this, drop me a PM. Haha
-Matt
