TERRE HAUTE —
Earlier this season, I was told that minor league teams shouldn’t expect to make a profit until their second season of operation. Most won’t escape red ink until their third season.
According to ISU Foundation President Gene Crume, the Foundation owns the team via Sycamore Holdings, the Terre Haute Rex were profitable this season and will be able to add money back to the ISU endowment.
That’s fairly remarkable. Though plans were in the works long before the team was publicly announced in late 2009, the franchise essentially had less than a half-year to market the team from birth to Opening Day in June.
The Rex averaged 825 fans per game — ahead of preseason projections by the team — and Crume also said merchandise sales significantly exceeded preseason projections. For Saturday’s finale, the Rex drew a whopping 2,178 fans, a record crowd by a large margin.
“We wanted to shoot for between 650 and 700 fans, so we’ve exceeded that significantly. I would bet we’re in the top third of the league when it comes to tickets sold versus fans at the game. It’s been outstanding,” Crume said.
“The biggest thing has been how well the merchandise has sold. The team members who put that package together did an exceptional job. They picked merchandise that resonated with people. How quickly and well it sold really exceeded my expectations,” Crume added.
Clearly, all of it is a credit to Crume, owner Kevin Hoolehan, general manager Roland Shelton and the rest of the Rex’s Foundation staff, who did yeoman’s work to make baseball return to Terre Haute a runaway success.
But really, the credit goes to you.
The only way this team was going to be a success was if the people of Terre Haute made it so. Organized baseball as a spectator sport hadn’t been an option in Terre Haute since 1956, so while optimists like me thought it would work, no one really knew until local fans showed support for their local team.
“We’ve exceeded all of our expectations. The best part about all of it is how warmly this team has been received by this community,” said Crume before a game that would see a record crowd file into Bob Warn Field.
General manager Roland Shelton and manager Brian Dorsett thanked the fans in a pre-game ceremony for their support.
The success is gratifying because I heard plenty of Rex naysayers as the season approached and at the beginning of the campaign. I had several people tell me that baseball will never work in Terre Haute, that the Rex are a novelty that will fade and fail.
I’ll never understood why people think this way. Why expect failure and be surprised by success when you should expect success and be surprised by failure? Too often success isn’t expected in Terre Haute — whether it be an athletic endeavor or not — and there’s no reason for anyone in this city to feel that way.
And anyway, the Rex have avoided the trap of being a novelty act if attendance is any indication. Attendance at Rex games increased as the season went along, as good an indication as any that fans were liking what they were seeing.
The attendance increase went right down to the finale. Though the Rex were eliminated from playoff contention after they were swept in a doubleheader at Nashville on Friday, the team had to resort to selling standing room only tickets for the Saturday finale against Danville. The 2,178 attendance figure was no trumped up total either. The crowd was so large there were fans standing in the Rex bullpen to watch the finale.
Crume pointed out the way Terre Haute embraced the team in the community beyond just showing up for games went a long way.
“Terre Haute has been complimented over and over again. That was one of the first things the Commissioner noticed when he visited. The folks in Nashville complimented our fans about our game atmosphere and how much our fans get into it,” Crume said. “Our host families, the players love them. They’ve been lobbied by players on other teams wanting to come play for the Rex. Hospitality goes a long way from the entire community.”
The success of the team should have a tangible benefit fans (of both the Rex and Indiana State baseball) should see next year. Crume said there are plans to enhance the Bob Warn Field facilities. To what extent that will be won’t be known until Crume and the Foundation meet with the ISU athletic department.
“Improvements are a priority. We need to talk about what’s next. What can we add? The most important criteria is what can we do to enhance the experience of the fans who come and watch the games?” said Crume, who mentioned a new scoreboard, more chairback seats, outfield seating area and enhancing the corporate deck area as potential options for improvement.
There are other improvements that can be made to enhance the game experience. Fans would be a lot more comfortable if there’s something that can be done to give them shade from the brutally hot sun and the elements (it rained at approximately half of the home dates, which makes the Rex attendance all the more impressive).
Perhaps improvements down the left field line could include another set of bathroom facilities and a concession stand that would be closer to the fans on that side of the field.
No matter what’s added in the future, the bottom line is that the Rex were a big success in Terre Haute in the present.
Give yourself a hand for that.
Todd Golden is sports editor of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star. He can be reached at (812) 231-4272 or todd.golden@tribstar.com. Check out Golden’s blog at blogs.tribstar.com/downinthevalley.
Terre Haute Rex
From the Pressbox: Terre Haute fans should give themselves a hand for Rex success
- Terre Haute Rex
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
The Terre Haute Rex went through plenty of trials and tribulations during the summer of 2012.
The team got off to a sluggish start to settle for third place during the first half of the Prospect League race, but manager Brian Dorsett rallied the troops to a second-half title. -
Metro Roundup: Dorsett, Rex players honored in Prospect League postseason awards
Terre Haute Rex closer Nick Blount won one award and shared another and Brian Dorsett shared Manager of the Year honors as the Prospect League announced postseason awards Saturday.
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Rex out of playoffs
Successful playoff baseball = clean baseball.
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Rex mix, match their way to win
The Terre Haute Rex clinched a playoff spot last Thursday … but there were still four games to be played.
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Rex turn eye to Prospect playoffs
Fans attending this evening’s Terre Haute Rex game should expect some handouts, some surprises — and probably better start by the home team than the Rex could provide Saturday night.
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Rex drop road game to Sliders 7-1
One night after a dramatic come-from-behind victory, the Terre Haute Rex went down meekly to the Springfield Sliders 7-1 in Prospect League baseball Friday night.
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Rex defeat Springfield twice, clinch spot in playoffs
It was a long but fruitful night for the playoff-bound Terre Haute Rex.
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Playoff march continues: Rex creep closer to postseason with victory over Dans
Hire the band, make the floats, and rent out a street.
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Rex split, retain 3 1⁄2-game advantage in West Division
A five-run ninth-inning rally fell far short for the Terre Haute Rex on Sunday night in Prospect League baseball.
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No no-hitter, but Rex triumphs
Kyle Zimmerman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, lost his control and the lead, but the Terre Haute Rex offense had an immediate answer Friday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Travel baseball teams enjoy busy summer
So in the past two or three years, the increase in local travel baseball options has been led by three groups, Indiana (formerly Terre Haute) Havoc, Riley Recreation League and Junior Rex.
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First-place Rex top rival Bombers
If you haven’t been to a Terre Haute Rex game yet this season, tonight might be the time to go.
The Rex have a second straight home game against the Dubois County Bombers, a potential Prospect League West Division playoff preview — and a battle between maybe the division’s two biggest rivals. -
Rex top Cavemen, raise record to 14-6
The first-place Terre Haute Rex picked up a 6-4 victory Wednesday at Hannibal, Mo., against the Cavemen.
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Rex win first game of Saturday doubleheader
Terre Haute maintained its stronghold on first place in the Prospect League West Division on Saturday, the Rex defeating Dubois County 6-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.
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Strunc fans 10, Rex win 12-10
Power pitching and power hitting kept a season-high crowd of 1,732 Rex fans on the edge of their seats Friday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Starting role suits Cunningham as Rex win
Nick Cunningham took the mound Thursday in his relatively new role as starting pitcher looking to give the Terre Haute Rex some breathing room atop the Prospect League West Division standings.
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Rex fall at Danville, maintain two-game division lead
The Terre Haute Rex lost 7-4 on Wednesday at Danville, falling to 9-4 in the second half of the Prospect League schedule.
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High drama, but no win
Pinch-hitter Michael Eberle provided patient Terre Haute Rex fans with plenty of excitement by belting a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score against the Springfield Sliders at 9-9.
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Rex cool off against Springfield
It was a game Terre Haute probably didn’t deserve to win, and, despite an outstanding bullpen effort and focused hitting in the last few innings, the Rex did lose Monday for the first time since July 4 at Quincy.
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Rex roll to lead in division
A constant theme repeated by Terre Haute Rex manager Brian Dorsett is how his summer-league collegians adjust to the everyday schedule, rather than the four or five-game slates they’re used to.
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Rex bounce back, dominate Dans
Terre Haute reaped the bounty of three Danville errors in the second inning. The Rex made the Dans pay for each of their errors with eight base hits in the inning and Terre Haute never looked back on its way to an 11-4 victory in front of sweltering crowd of 669.
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Rex open second half with victory at Quincy
The Terre Haute Rex opened the second half of the Prospect League season with a 8-7 victory Tuesday night at Quincy Stadium.
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Head coach could be next stop for Prettyman
Credited in part to some unforgettable memories at Cal State Fullerton, where Ronnie Prettyman scored the winning run in the 2004 College World Series, the Indiana State and Terre Haute Rex assistant coach wants to pursue a future in college coaching.
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Cunningham, McCurdy pace Rex to win over league leader
What was essentially a meaningless baseball game as far as the standings were concerned couldn’t have gone much better for the Terre Haute Rex on Saturday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Rex score 4 before getting first hit, then hang on for win
With temperatures over 100 degrees Friday, affairs at Bob Warn Field took a walk on the wild side.
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Rex duo working overtime
It’s obviously a bonus to recruit a college baseball player that can pitch once a week and take the field and bat in the middle of the batting order the rest of the time.
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Rex fall 7-1 to Hannibal
The Terre Haute Rex lost 7-1 on Thursday, falling behind 4-0 after the first inning at Bob Warn Field.
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Rex have winning streak snapped
The season-long five-game winning streak of the Terre Haute Rex came to an end Wednesday night at Dubois County.
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Rex move within four games of first-place Dubois County
The Terre Haute Rex moved within four games of the first-place Dubois County Bombers, scoring the first 11 runs in a 12-6 shellacking at Bob Warn Field on Tuesday.
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Rex take third straight, move to 12-11 overall
Wildness cost the Terre Haute Rex a precarious lead in the fifth inning, but thankfully for the home team Quincy returned the favor in the bottom of the ninth inning.
- More Terre Haute Rex Headlines
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