There is little doubt that one of the most buzzworthy stories of the winter in the City of Brotherly love has been Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers love em or hate em mascot who became quite the viral sensation. Not to take anything away from the Eagles, or the playoff bound Sixers or even the Flyers without Gritty, but Philadelphia seems to become obssessed with Bryce Harper.

 

What does it mean to the brand? Our colleague Scott  Huntington took a look

Phillies owner John Middleton made it clear that this off-season would be a major recruitment period — he wanted to add a star to the team’s roster. He more than achieved that goal by nabbing Bryce Harper, a young but decorated player. While playing for the Washington Nationals, he earned the National League’s Rookie of the Year title in 2012, and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America named him the NL Most Valuable Player of the Year in 2015 at just 23 years old.

Now, at 26, Harper has his future set — he signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies, the most lucrative sports contract ever. With such a major talent headed to Philadelphia, it’s clear that the city’s market is set to change upon his arrival. Here’s how:

Ticket Prices and Sales Have Already Increased

Within 24 hours of Harper signing his contract, ticket sales for future Phillies games spiked — they sold approximately 100,000 tickets that day, according to the senior vice president of ticket operations, John Weber. Sales included all types of tickets, too — single games, multi-game packages and even season tickets flew off the proverbial shelves as soon as fans knew Harper had committed to the team. According to Weber, they had never sold that many tickets in a single day, either.

The Phillies have obviously signed great players before Harper, too, but none have caused such a stir. In 2002, the Phillies had two exciting changes on the horizon. For one, they were moving from Veterans Stadium in honor of their current home, Citizens Bank Park. Plus, that year they also signed Jim Thome, a first- and third-baseman who would go on to hit 47 home runs in his first year as a Philly. But his slugger reputation wasn’t enough to sell 100,000 tickets, nor was the promise of a new field.

Because so many people want to see Harper play — and they’re buying so many tickets to do so — the price of entry to a future Phillies game will undoubtedly be higher than before. On March 28, 2019, the Phillies will play their first home game of the season at Citizens Bank Park. Before news of Harper’s contract spread, a ticket to opening day cost about $60 on Ticket IQ. By the next day, prices had soared to $137, a 128 percent increase from the pre-Harper figures.

Clearly, the Phillies organization is thrilled to have Harper as part of the line-up. Not only have they seen ticket sales spike, but they can use Harper for further promotion. Plus, they can sell sponsorships around their star player, so that they will see some returns on their massive investment.

The Battle for Attention

Fans in Philadelphia tend to have short memories. We saw that when fans were booing the Eagles team that had won the Super Bowl the year before. So it’s safe to say that very few people are riding high on the Phillies World Series, which is now over a decade old in 2008. Since then, they’ve been overshadowed by every other pro sports team in the city at some point. The 76ers have Ben Simmons, The Eagles won their first Super Bowl ever, and even Flyers have stolen the spotlight with their crazy-looking new mascot, Gritty. The Harper addition not only will help the team win games, but it will also give them the spotlight for most of the summer.

Big names draw big money. They Phillies will start to see their nationally televised games go up, especially if they put in a solid season this year. This means the price for commercials, TV appearances, and sponsors will start to rise. The hefty price they paid for Harper can be worth it if they can charge more for everything else.

Don’t forget merchandise. Perhaps this statistic tells the biggest story of all: Bryce Harper’s jersey set a record for most sales in 24 hours, out of any sport. That even beat out LeBron James’ Lakers jersey from when he signed with the Lakers. Clothing and retail stores have to be salivating about how much extra cash they can get from anything they can sell with a #3 on it.

Then you factor in record sales of a Topps card just putting on the jersey, and the cash register is already signing.

The Future looks Bright

This isn’t just a one year boost for the Philadelphia baseball market. Harper is in it for the long haul, and it’s likely to draw in big names, especially if they start winning. There’s already buzz that center fielder Mike Trout will join the Phillies in 2020, when his contract with the Los Angeles Angels comes to an end. Harper himself made reference to the possibility during his first news conference with the team. For now, the Phillies have put $440 million toward players’ salaries in the off-season leading up to the 2019 season. Along with Harper, they added to the line-up outfielder Andrew McCutchen, shortstop Jean Segura, catcher J.T. Realmuto and reliever David Robertson. All four are former All-Stars and show that the Phillies organization doesn’t want to be mediocre anymore — they want championships.

One of the other things that makes Harper a great fit for Philly is that the fans want him there. They had also been looking at signing Manny Machado, another huge name on the market. But the fans were very clear that it wasn’t Machado they wanted, it was Harper. Fans will show up in droves when he’s playing, but what if he gets injured? Fifty percent of all sports injuries hit the lower body, and no one knows that better than Bryce Harper. Things look good now, but an injury could easily derail the team’s envisioned future and completely change the market for tickets, advertising and more.

He’ll Be Around For a While

Harper’s contract makes it tough for him to leave the team, too. It contains a no-trade clause, but there is no opt-out clause — Harper intends to stick around for the rest of his career. And, with the right supporting players and proper training, the Philadelphia market should only continue to flourish under its new star in right field.