In the past few seasons, the Chiefs have stuck with a black, white, and baby blue color scheme, which remained the last remnants of their affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays. This coming season, the Chiefs will stick with a red, white, and navy blue colorway, which better matches their affiliation with the Washington Nationals. Since aligning with the D.C. club, the Chiefs have gone with the red, white, and blue theme for their alternate uniforms. Now, they are turning to the patriotic colorway for good.
Smorol then turned the attention to NBT Bank Stadium and seating. For the 2016 season, the Chiefs will cover up just over 1,500 seats in the 300 levels of the stadium, specifically sections 305, 307, 310, 312, and 314. The tarps covering them will be open for advertising, which will help bring in money. Though the seating capacity will drop to just under 10,000, Smorol insisted this is a good move since the team doesn't need a 12,000 ballpark at the moment. Remember, the Chiefs have been at the bottom of the International League for attendance for a long time. The more empty seats, the worse things are for the ball club.
Finally, Smorol announced the ticket price for 300 level seats will now be raised two dollars while a one dollar surcharges will be in place for tickets sold on gameday. This means 300 level seats will cost $7, while 200 level seats remain at $10 and 100 level seats start at $12. If you buy any ticket on the day of a game, those prices will all go up a single dollar.
Author's Note: Overall, this is all good news for the Chiefs. Though I am a fan of the baby blue color (mostly from the 1975-1996 era,) the new color scheme of red, white, and blue is both patriotic and shows solidarity with the Washington Nationals. I am disappointed that NBT Bank Stadium will have less seating, but I know it is for the best. As a regular fan, it does hurt to see good crowds look small because of all the empty seats. With some of the more distant 300 level seats covered up, it will take away "dead" areas of the stadium where few people ever sit, thus making the park feel more filled. Concerning ticket prices, I have no issue at all with the prices. They are still the cheapest in Syracuse by far. If you want to check me on that, I suggest you look up prices for the Chiefs, Crunch, Knights, and teams on the hill for comparison. Even better, just check out my past articles focused on pricing arguments and the location of NBT Bank Stadium. If anything, these announcements only bring more anticipation for the 2016 season of Chiefs baseball.