Colorado Time Systems - Time Out

Brand new to the job in mid June, Jim Weigel is on the threshold of opening up an exciting new area for CTS: baseball. "My job is to represent CTS and CDS to professional and collegiate baseball programs to sell video displays and scoreboards," said Weigel.

Weigel's experience includes baseball sales manager at Trans-Lux Corporation/Barco Sports. With more than 30 years of experience in professional sports management and outside sales, Weigel brings a level of expertise that will make CTS and CDS a formidable presence in minor league and collegiate baseball.

Weigel played some baseball in high school and college; he was also a high school teacher and coach with aspirations of breaking into pro baseball in any capacity. After about a year of sending out resumes, he became the manager of the Tulsa Oilers, a farm club of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Hatching of the San Diego Chicken

Weigel said, "When I first brought in the San Diego Chicken, he worked for a San Diego radio station, and he originally worked the games to get free baseball tickets. He was so good, he got to be more popular than the baseball players themselves."

As the chicken's popularity grew, he decided to leave the radio station and make mascotting his full-time gig. But the station refused to let the costume go, so Weigel came up with a brilliant plan: reintroduce the chicken with a brand-new suit by putting a giant egg on the field and cranking up the suspense and excitement for fans.

"Then some college kids from San Diego State kidnapped the egg and held it for ransom, demanding tickets and beer, so I went on TV and begged for the egg's life. We paid the ransom and then at a game wheeled the egg in an armored car onto the field with the '2001 Space Odyssey' theme playing. The excitement was unbelievable. Since we paid the chicken based on ticket sales, thanks to the promotion, the chicken made $42,000 that night."

Weigel was vice president and general manager of the Oklahoma City 89ers and held the same position with the Lansing (MI) Lugnuts. He also started his own company, Championship Sports Marketing, providing marketing consultation for pro and amateur sports clubs.

Over his career, Weigel has been a pioneer in many areas. As director of marketing for the San Diego Padres in the '70s, Weigel developed the idea of using corporate sponsorship to underwrite the cost of promotions and special events, a practice that has been adopted by virtually every other major league organization. But Weigel's real claim to fame is his discovery of the San Diego chicken, the archetype of sports mascots.

Weigel was the obvious choice to crack the baseball market for CTS. "I've always been aware of the company," he said. "CTS has an outstanding reputation in the industry and is the world's leading manufacturer of timing and display equipment. I'm very excited to go to work for CTS. The people are first-class, professional and easy to get along with. I'm looking forward to it."

Weigel has successfully secured display system projects at more than 30 Minor League Baseball venues, and will continue to grow that number. During the next three months, he will be making face-to-face visits with more than 50 Minor League Baseball and collegiate baseball teams, introducing them to the CTS/CDS product offering.

While CTS has done some work in professional baseball, this is the first time CTS is actively pursuing minor league scoring and display projects. "We're making a concentrated effort to get a reasonable share of the baseball market," said Weigel.