Business View Magazine - January 2024

process took a lot of thought. And one of the things we thought would make sense would be to sponsor a field.We were in love with this community, and it’s very important for Leidos, as an organization, to be a part of the fabric of the community, to participate and collaborate.” For Leidos, and Ripken Stadium, the synergistic collaboration has been a huge success. “We’re appreciative of them as our partner,” says Jack Graham, General Manager of the IronBirds.“And that’s because we do so much more than just baseball. In addition to our 66 professional baseball games, we have community events, festivals, weddings, business meetings, and charity fundraisers.” Gumbert adds, “We have a suite above third base, which comes as part of our sponsorship where we might host a church group, or a community group like the YMCA, or a couple of military charities, such as the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and Gold Star Mothers. We also use the suite and the stadium for employee recognition events. And lastly, we do some business development up there. We might invite five or six local companies to come and enjoy the time and network there at the suite.” BASEBALL COMES FIRST All that being said, the main focus at Leidos Field is still baseball, which, according to Graham, has experienced a resurgence since the pandemic. “The IronBirds have been lucky,” he states. “We’re among a small group of teams that were moved from the short-season NY/Penn league, meaning we were playing about 40 games a year starting in June, to Advanced-A, or High-A baseball, meaning we’re playing 75% more games, which is a lot more people through the gates.” “We’re experiencing an increase in attendance and an increase in attention, because people are seeing that the quality of baseball that we’re playing at Ripken Stadium is much higher. People are coming out and there are more eyeballs on Leidos Field, more eyeballs on the IronBirds, and more benefit to the community here in Aberdeen.” 200 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 01