Sports

For Wildcats, build a winner — and they will come

• Thanks to the success of the South Georgia Wildcats last season, the franchise is starting to see increased attendance and ticket sales.

Paul Dehner Jr.

ALBANY — South Georgia Wildcats general manager Darren McPhail doesn’t claim a winning product on the field is necessary to win in the ticket office.

But a quick glance at the numbers when the Wildcats produced their first winning season during three years in Albany left an undeniable fact: It doesn’t hurt.

“In the first two seasons, the first and last game of the season were the largest draws,” he said. “Last year, after Florida and as we kept winning the crowds kept increasing, gradually.”

The Wildcats averaged 5,498 fans a home game last year. The numbers were above those from the previous two campaigns.

South Georgia finished the regular season 10-6 and won its first playoff game in history before falling in the second round at Tulsa.

Few could deny the victories created a buzz around what was already a popular local event.

Now, McPhail hopes the team can build on the success of last season not only on the field but in the stands.

“We are hoping to start off at the point we were last season when the wins started to add up,” he said.

McPhail and company have pushed group sales this year by offering a plan of $5 for group tickets for a particular game. The Wildcats are also offering a deal of buying tickets for $10, then allowing the consumer to sell them individually for $5 as a fundraiser.

Currently, McPhail says they have 1,000 tickets out in group sales for each game.

The cheapest tickets for walk up are at $12, but range to as high at $50 to sit behind the benches.

With the home opener against Louisville one week away, this is among the most crucial time of the year for the staff even with a brisk offseason of sales behind them. Now entering the teams fourth season in Albany, the concern of local fans that the team will not leave, as previous franchises have, has subsided.

Though, McPhail admits he never thought of it that way, he realizes the success was needed to win over the public.

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“It is football, but this is first class entertainment,” he said. “During our season on Saturday nights, we are the thing to do in Albany.”

The next step for the Wildcats is becoming first class in the standings.

With a rule change placing the Arena Cup back at the home of the highest seeded team again this year, there would be no better way to stay the “thing to do” than to bring the championship game to the Civic Center.

“Our mentality is to make it fun for the fans,” McPhail said. “But this community wants to rally around and support a winner.”

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