#006 Erik Ibsen - Toledo Mud Hens

Executive Vice President & General Manager of the Toledo Mud Hens joins host Brad Rieger to discuss his career with the team, the success of the Mud Hens, and how the employees focus on bringing fans a special experience at the downtown ballpark each and every game.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Well, hello everyone, and welcome to Holy Toledo Sports Edition. I'm Brad Rieger, and today we get to connect with the general manager and vice president of the Mud Hens, Eric Ipson. Well, Eric, thanks for joining us today and giving us an opportunity to get to know who you are and just more about the Mud Hens organization. And you've been with the organization for 35 years, but before we get to that part, uh you're from Philadelphia. You grew up in Philadelphia. Yes. And it's a huge sports town. So who did you grow up uh cheering for, and who were some of your childhood heroes?

SPEAKER_00 0:48

So huge Philadelphia Eagles fan, huge Phillies fan, huge Flyers fan, uh huge Sixers fan. Randall Cunningham was in that time. Charles Barclay was kind of at the end of Dr. J, you know, his career and as Charles Barclay was getting going. Uh Mike Schmidt was a favorite of mine. I I kind of have always joked my dad's uh company would get some tickets to some Eagles games and we'd go to Old Veterans Stadium and we'd be up on the the 700 level. And there's probably things that I learned during my childhood up on that level that scarred me for life. Get you ready for life. Some things, yes. Some things probably still uh freak me out a little bit. But great sports town. We'd get to go to games uh every so often and um still follow the teams closely today.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

And sports for you, what did you play growing up?

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Uh basketball, soccer, and baseball was third. Uh wish I had stuck with baseball a little bit longer, but I played soccer and basketball through high school.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

And your basketball, uh your high school, and what high school did you go to?

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Uh Unionville High School. It's about 35 minutes uh southwest of Philadelphia.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

And you had a great basketball run, state tournament run, too. I didn't. My team didn't.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Yeah, I mean, I I was uh I let's just say I was a part of the team. Um but we had a run, it was a pretty small high school. Uh I think it's probably the last time they've made states, which was a long time ago. So just something to look back on. And um I tell my two boys that play sports now, play as long as you love it and as you can, because the the memories that it provides are are with you forever. So it's it's fun to look back. Still I'm in touch with one or two of the friends from that team and from high school. Right.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Then you made your way to the University of Arizona, you got your degree in uh marketing, but one of the more noteworthy aspects of your time there is that you were the team manager for the basketball team, and Lude Olson, Hall of Fame coach, was the coach there. What what did you take away from that great experience?

SPEAKER_00 3:01

It was cool. Uh I I got to I worked at the summer camps as a counselor, uh, which was a great summer job while classes weren't going on. Got to be in the locker room before and games and during halftime, mainly stats. Wasn't a full-time manager where I was traveling on the road and doing all the things that that crew was doing, but it just gave a cool behind the scenes look at a successful sports program and a coach who had the respect and love of his players, and you got to see things that were uh that that most people didn't get to see. So that was exciting for a major college program like that, and um learned a lot of things and and met a lot of people that way, and obviously I'm a huge Arizona basketball fan from that.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Right. And you then you landed an internship here at uh with the Mud Hens uh 1995-ish. Uh what were your duties when you first landed here?

SPEAKER_00 4:01

A little of everything. So I was I was in a unique spot where I had actually finished school. A lot of interns are obviously getting experience while they're in it. I was done and was trying to find the right path. Um, so one benefit that I had that not a lot of people had that were interning at the same time is I I could be here all day, every day. I didn't know a soul in town. So it it was really me and the mudhens for I don't even know how many hours a week. So I had the benefit of being in the office during the day and selling, which is really where I think uh was able to make a name for myself, but then still got to be there for all the games and do all the duties from press box sorts of responsibilities to uh pulling tarp when we needed to, when the weather wasn't good, to uh watching kids in the kids play area as some sort of counselor or sponsor out there to all sorts of things. You never really knew what you were gonna get on any given day. But the the main takeaways were the the spending the time during the business hours selling ticket packages and summer fun packs and things that we used to sell, and I think that's how I uh hopefully caught the attention of a couple of people.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

Now, your counterpart um uh uh Neil Newcomb said that he spent time uh as the as the mascot, as muddy. Did you do any muddy time? I did not.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

I I I didn't outwardly promote that I was not interested in that, uh, but I used my height, being tall as kind of my excuse that you know I would be too big for the kids and the costume didn't fit. You'd scare the kids. Yeah, that just wasn't that's not my personality. Although I suppose I've had people tell me if if you have the costume on and no one knows who you are, you can do any of it you want. Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Uh so when you first landed though, uh it obviously the Mud Hands were playing at Ned Skeldon Stadium in Mar Mee. And can you paint a little bit of a picture of what that was like for fans and players and just for staff?

SPEAKER_00 6:06

What a unique experience. So, you know, the the the minor league baseball world has really become a big deal these days, current state, these big, beautiful ballparks, and they're really like small major league teams. It it it was an interesting time back at Skeldon. It was a fun place to watch a game. The challenges were when we had any sort of good crowd, the facility couldn't handle it. So the the concession stands couldn't keep up, the restrooms weren't large enough for when we had a big crowd. Um the players had to actually walk through the public to get out to the field, which, as you can imagine, you know, maybe a few guys didn't mind that, but most people didn't care for that. It was a very mom and pop fun feel. Uh, we've joked that we should be writing books and making movies or doing doing things to try and recoup all those memories and the unique things that happened. But it was a fun time. You got to see, you know, the the the Derek Jeter is probably the biggest name that I can remember that I remember playing. That was, I think, my either my internship year or my first year as a full-time staff member. So um, you know, the memories are endless of of uh past employees that we're still in touch with 35 years later, um, and just the memories of players and coaches and the things we used to do, and uh it was it was a great experience.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

One of the more um impactful experiences I imagine in your career is the move downtown for sure and the building of fifth, third field. What do you remember about that transformational move? And that was 2002.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

It was it was it was a wonderful experience. It was one of those where I had now been, you know, I started the internship in 95, so I had been at Skeldon four or five years and was probably personally wondering, you know, how much more time can I work at Skeldon Stadium and what are the next steps for me. And then uh when when our board and and Joe and and the plans together came together for fifth, third field, it was like a brand new job in the same city with the same co-workers. We needed to add co-workers. I will tell you, as a salesperson, uh it was fun walking into buildings and companies with the little model of the ballpark we had and trying to sell suites and season tickets. Those were fun conversations to have. Um, people were excited. There was some people who questioned it. There's still some that'll admit, you know, I was an A-sayer. I can't believe I didn't think this would work. And um so my responsibilities were really on the ticket sales side as we transitioned downtown and you know, making sure we had a successful base of season ticket holders and groups. And I'd be lying if I said compared to what we had been selling the previous few years, it wasn't a little bit of an easier sale sell. But uh it was a great experience. I got to meet so many different people in the in the community, so many great companies and organizations that supported the project, and still I'm in contact with many of them today.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

And here we are in 2026. The uh the stadium is almost 25 years old. What over the years, what do players say and coaches say about playing at fifth third?

SPEAKER_00 9:38

It it it gets graded out as one of, if not the highest, one of the highest. Um whether it's the the clubhouse and locker room facilities themselves, um, our team and the architects did a wonderful job in not building to what you needed back in 2002. They they they they built and had some foresight and built extra, right? So you could grow into things over the years. So it was really a major league clubhouse, or is a major league clubhouse on a smaller scale. The playing surface, we have the best groundskeeper in in baseball as far as I'm concerned, an award winner. Uh, that we, you know, uh we get great feedback on the field and the facility, um, and and really just the community overall. It's it it's it's a place now we get uh through Major League Baseball, we get evaluated by visiting teams. There's a survey that goes to us after every team leaves town on everything from the amenities and the service they received and what they needed, and we're we're doing very well in that regard. And that speaks to the ballpark and the people that we have working here.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

The field looks immaculate. I've never been on the field, but this looking at that that diamond is incredible.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

It's it Kyle uh Lapelmeyer does a wonderful job for us, him and his team. Um it's it's something that we take great pride in. It's funny because you know, Kyle will joke that uh you should see his lawn at home because he put so much time and effort into this that uh people would laugh if they saw his yard. But um it's it's something we take seriously. You put a lot of time and resources into the ballpark because you realize uh people have choices as to how they're gonna spend their discretionary time and income. And you want people to be proud. You want we we take our role in the community very seriously. We we want to be a one of the jewels in this great community along with all the other great attractions, and with that comes a responsibility to making sure people are coming to a first-rate place. And the best compliment I can receive is when I'm showing someone from Major League Baseball around or a sponsor, or maybe it's another team that is building a ballpark and they want to come see fifth, third field as as a preparation for things they might want to include in theirs, and you'll tell them the ballpark opened in 2002, and they'll look around and they'll be like, wow, it doesn't look like it. And it's like, there you go, that's that's that's what we're after.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

So the maintenance and the upgrade over the about 24 years, give us an idea what you have had to do to keep it brand new.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

So we we have a real specific capital improvements project that we work on with um uh Lucas County in the commissioner's office, and then we we go through and we project out about 10 years and ask our staff to take part in you know what what they think over the next 10 years we're going to need, what we're gonna need to replace, um, what is something new that uh a fan would want to see. And and so it's it's getting to the point where it's averaging almost $2 million a year. So you spread that out over 10 years and the numbers add up quick. So we work really hard at that and prioritizing, you know, what are the things that need to be done first and what are the things you can wait on a little bit longer. And most of those things on that list fall into really one of two categories. It's a fan experience element, so it's maybe it's a new party space, a new video board, um, a new social section where we can try and capitalize on the way fans are enjoying watching baseball these days, or it's gonna fall into the must-have key upkeep mechanical HVAC, chiller, concrete work to make sure the ballpark stays the way we want it to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

We're obviously affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. Can you give us an idea how that relationship works and then how much interaction do you have with um uh the Detroit uh team?

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Yeah, uh it's oh, it's a wonderful wonderful affiliation. We're we're very fortunate that we have been affiliated with them for about 40 years. Uh it works. It works on many levels. They uh their leadership and our leadership have worked well together. Geographically, it works well from the standpoint of uh the Tigers could have somebody get injured in batting practice, and we could have a replacement there by game time. Uh there's not a lot of AAA major league relationships where the geography works.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

How does that work? Would that be someone connecting with you or is it coach the coach?

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Uh it's it's front office to coaching staff here. We're on the receiving end of players' moves. We're not weighing in on that. So that's something happens, Detroit makes a decision, lets the coaching staff know, and it eventually gets to our marketing and PR group and the people that need to know here. Um the most famous rehab assignment. What what would you say? Oh, I did Justin Verlander had a one-game start here. Gosh, I cannot remember the year, but it was it was fantastic. It was a Saturday night, I'll never forget it, so the crowd was gonna be good anyway. But um he was uh on the mound and ended up being about a crowd of about 13,000, so he helped jam in all the standing room only. It happened to be Jurassic Park night. Um and so uh we had these crazy Jurassic Park uniforms on, and Justin was great. He was taking video footage of the jersey in his locker and talking about how cool it was, you know, all the minor league promotions and fun things we do. And then ironically enough, he uh started the game, and that night, regardless of whether he had been here or not, we were gonna have a uh a Velociraptor deliver the first pitch ball to him. Why wouldn't you, right? Exactly. Uh that's that's what it's all about. And so he played along great with that too. It came out and gave him the first pitch ball. And um, you know, those are the fun things that we get to do. You get to combine baseball with with fun promotions and family entertainment, and whether you love baseball or you're more of a casual fan or you don't love it at all, we're we're biased enough to think that we've got something here for you that you'll like and and that you should bring your family or friends or whomever you like to spend time with.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Eric, in your role as VP and general manager, uh, how much interaction do you have with the coach and players?

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Um quite a bit. I I'm um so the the our manager and the coaching staff are employees of the Tigers, um, so they're reporting to them first and foremost. I I have regular interaction during the season. I'll check in with the coaching staff uh a couple times a week and and see if they need anything, how things are going. Our staff has done such a great job here that it no news is usually good news, sort of thing. And we've had some great managers here that appreciate the work that our team does. Um but it's usually just to check in and uh I'll spend some time and ask some baseball stories and ask about some players, but want to give them the room to do what they need to do, because obviously the goal is for the coaching staff to develop the guys that are here and and get them to Detroit as quickly as possible. But it's it's a fun interaction, but it's it's not necessarily it can be every day if it needs to be, but it's it's typically a couple of times a week and and just checking in and making sure that Toledo and the Mudhens are providing the coaches and the players what they need as their temporary home, so to speak.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

The fan experience is huge, right? It is. From your perspective, Eric, what are the key aspects on game day or game night so that uh the fan experience is top shelf?

SPEAKER_00 17:50

I I think it's just fanatical experience training, and we we talk about this all the time. Our front office, our part-time employees go through an annual training uh we refer to as the fanatical experience, and it's it has to be uh the culture of Fifth Third Field and all the employees here. You want people coming to see a clean ballpark, you want uh friendly, polite interactions, you want questions to be answered appropriately, in addition to having a first-rate ballpark like Fifth Third Field is, and and all the bells and whistles that come with the video board or the game itself. And and so that's that's really the key component. Um, but it's also keeping the ballpark clean, uh finding things that whether you love baseball or not, are going to attract an audience. Um and you know, uh we do a lot of survey work, and it's people are surprised to hear only about 15% of our attendees are true diehard baseball fans. Well, that's a lot of other people to reach, and and how do you do that? Well, you do that with a first-rate facility, fun promotions and interactions that might get people to sample you and then a great experience when they're here, so they want to come back. And we we hope that if people sample us once or twice a year, you're you're gonna want to come back and you're gonna tell people about the good experience. So that's that's what it's all about, oversimplified.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

You mentioned a Jurassic Park. Uh is there a favorite or a memorable promotion that over your decades here that stands out?

SPEAKER_00 19:27

That's tough because you you kind of see what other teams do. Um I I don't know if I have a favorite, I have different ones like the the the Tigers exhibition games that we did at Skelton Stadium where the Tigers would come down, and we've we've done it at Fifth Third Field once or twice. Um you know, fireworks are a little cliche, but it it's a big deal when you have a fun sold-out crowd, and at the end of the night it's capped off with fireworks, and people stick around, and then if it's a good show, you get the applause afterwards. And a lot of the things I think probably just I I have four kids that are growing up way too quick. Um a lot of the kids oriented, like something as simple as kids run the bases after the game. You go out there and you look at these kids who are treating this like this is the best thing that's ever happened to them, and they're speeding around the bases, and a couple of them are falling down, and they're looking for mom and dad and grandpa, and and it it's it's the stuff like that that really is kind of solidified why I've enjoyed working here for as long as I have. It's those um simple elements that tie together sports and business and baseball and community, and those are the things that matter the most.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

Yeah. Besides a great um athletic experience, product on the field, and then a great fan experience. Uh the Mud Hens are very involved in the community. What ways does the organization give back to the community?

SPEAKER_00 20:56

So there's a there's a quite a few. Uh we've really established a great youth sports program and uh within the organization, we have a team of people heading that up and getting out into the community and getting out to places that uh aren't always exposed to the mudhens or the walleye for that matter, and doing clinics and getting players out there. Um we have the Helping Hens Foundation, which is uh a grant-oriented foundation where people can submit grant requests uh related to youth sports programs and needs that their organization or league might have, and then there's a uh a committee that weighs in on that. So that's a very rewarding element to where you can give back to some of these organizations and leagues and teams and schools that that have needs and uh are are looking to the Mudhens and Walleye to help with those. So those are those are two of the big ones. But you know, that we we try and do community oriented promotions and um getting the players. Out in the community, whether it's hospital visits or visiting youths, uh youth-oriented events and schools, those are all big components of what we try to do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

And the mud, hands on the walleye um obviously are pillars of the community. What does it mean for you professionally, personally, to be associated with one of the pillars of the community?

SPEAKER_00 22:22

It it it's it's it's why I've been here over 30 years. Um it's uh there's so many great attractions in town that we consider to be our peers, the Metro Parks, the Art Museum, the the zoo, imagination station, all these things make Toledo what it is. I've lived different places out east and out west. And uh when I got here in 1995, I never thought I would be here in 2026. I thought I'd be going back east or west. So there's a reason for that, right? And and the community is such that it's a great place to raise a family. I met my wife Jill here. We have four kids. It's it's it there's great pride in in what we do. And when you tell somebody that you're meeting for the first time that you meet work for the Mudhens and the Walleye, everybody has a story, right? And and and it's it the to see the place that um the teams have in the community means something. And never mind the fact that we get to have a lot of fun doing what we're doing and and trying to sell tickets and get people to spend a few hours with us, but just knowing what the mud hens means to the community is is a big deal, and then all the fun that goes along with it has been a great ride.

unknown 23:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Eric, let's finish our conversation with music. I found out that you're a huge U2 fan. I am. Um how many times have you seen them in concert?

SPEAKER_00 23:47

Uh I d I don't think it eight or nine in different places. I don't think I've the ironic part is I don't think I've ever seen them in the same place twice. So this is it it's been spread out a little bit geography-wise.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Give me your top five U2 songs today. Uh at some point.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

But yeah, I I I'd say Where the Streets Have No Name has always been my favorite for some reason. I was in high school, senior high school when that came out, and uh that one's always stuck with me. Um Every Breaking Wave is one that isn't probably as popular to people. Um, Vertigo is up there. Um Faraway So Close is another kind of slow one, a little bit more obscure. Um there's a lot. There's a lot. There's a lot. Uh I could go down the list. So it's it's it's um just something I've always been interested in. My younger brother actually liked them before I did, and in high school he started listening, and I did, and it's kind of been the thing ever since. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

Since we're here at uh Fifth Third Theod, I have to ask you, what would your walk-up song be?

SPEAKER_00 24:57

You know, I don't know. Um it it it could be a U2 song. I I people were probably gonna be surprised by this because I I I I'm not uh uh super outgoing with the store of stuff. And I was never this real big 80s hairband guy, but like Motley Crue kickstart my heart for some reason, has always like when that's on on the radio, I'll stop and listen. So I'll you know I'll probably surprise some people with that one.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

But uh that would be great if you walked onto the field and that started playing.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Correct, exactly, exactly. So we'll um but uh I I could probably come up with a better one, but we'll go with that one for me.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

Well, Eric, this has been great. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into who you are and uh a little bit behind the scenes behind the mud heads, and thanks for your great leadership and making it a great experience for our fans, players, and coaches.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

Thank you so much for having me. This was a lot of fun.