Sports Biz

Published: Tuesday, 21 Apr 2009 | 9:11 AM ET

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Souce: SF Giants Pacquiao Bobble Head

The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers have done a great job over the years exploiting the ethnic makeup up their communities. But I have to give extra credit to the Giants today for its Filipino Heritage Night.

The Giants are attributing about 10,000 additional fans to the promotional cultural night tonight as they honor Filipino boxer Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, who will be throwing out the first pitch before the game.

Fans who buy special tickets, will get a ticket to the game and a Pacquiao bobblehead. Pulling in that many fans for a promotional night can be qualified as an incredible success, especially in these economic times.

But it's hardly by accident.

Last year, the Giants sold about 4,600 tickets to Filipino night and realized they were on to something. When the Giants presented Pacquiao with a jersey last year, they received calls from Filipino fans asking how the two were connected. The Giants knew they had to utilize Pacquiao. So with a fight scheduled against Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2 (HBO Pay Per View), the Giants created this night.

For $20, fans get a view reserve seat and a bobblehead. Fans who want better seats, can pay $35 to get a lower box seat with the bobblehead. The Giants also plan to donate some of the proceeds of tonight's game to Filipino charities.

The best part about the promotion is that Giants executives have found out that on cultural nights like these, they get a higher percentage of people that have never been to AT&T Park in its nine years of existence. So it's not only about cashing in on tonight's game, it's also about providing an experience that hopefully can generate some new fans.

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