Following two mediocre seasons on the field and at the box office, the San Francisco Giants are motivated to re-energize their fan base.
One effort is apparently to spice up their annual preseason event, Fan Fest. The event — hosted in conjunction with KNBR-680, their flagship radio station — is no longer a one-day blowout at Oracle Park, but rather a four-city tour across the Bay Area to drum up excitement. The experience will pop up in Sacramento on Jan. 20, San Jose on Jan. 27, Napa on Feb. 3 and finish at Oracle Park on March 9.
At each stop, fans will have opportunities to interact with former and current Giants, collect autographs and get merchandise. The Giants announced the details of the reimagined Fan Fest on Thursday morning.
Rookie pitcher Kyle Harrison and new hitting coach Pat Burrell will headline the San Jose event, which is set to take place at San Pedro Square Market. Other Giants players and coaches will join them from 4 to 7 p.m. for meet-and-greets and Q&A sessions.
Harrison, a San Jose native who went to De La Salle in Concord, remains the Giants’ top prospect. He started seven games last year, including an 11-strikeout gem in his home debut.
Last year’s Fan Fest drew roughly 10,000 fans — about a third of their peak attendance during the three-title run in the early 2010s. It was a rainy day, and a good portion of Giants fans were disillusioned by the club’s offseason that included failed pursuits of Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa.
“It was a weird offseason, to be honest,” ace Logan Webb said then.
Webb, who finished second in National League Cy Young voting in 2023, will attend the Sacramento portion of the reimagined Fan Fest. That will take place at Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple-A River Cats, just a half-hour drive from Webb’s hometown of Rocklin. The Napa location includes appearances from outfielder Michael Conforto and new third base coach Matt Williams.
The 2024 Fan Fest tour ends on March 9 at Oracle Park, though no current players will be in attendance. They’ll be in Scottsdale, rather, playing a spring training game.
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A Fan Fest at Oracle Park with no active Giants is a major departure from previous iterations. That won’t be the only difference; instead of kids getting a ball signed, they’ll be able to play with new technology seemingly out of a sci-fi novel.
“The Giants will also host an Open House at Oracle Park, providing fans with access to often restricted ballpark locations – including the field, clubhouse, broadcast booth and dugout,” the team said in a press release.
“Meet-and-greets and autograph opportunities with Giants alumni, broadcasters and Lou Seal will also be available. The Giants Spring Training game in Scottsdale will be broadcasted on the scoreboard during the event. In addition to the traditional elements of FanFest, the Giants will also unveil new technology to enhance the fan experience. The integration of a hologram booth will allow current players to ‘pop in’ from Scottsdale and interact with fans at Oracle Park. The ‘Swing Match Experience’ will provide attendees the opportunity to see which current Giants player they bat most like, based on technique.”
