A baseball-themed adventure

01-22-2008

A baseball-themed adventure of his own spurred Tom Broach to become a pioneer in the baseball tour industry. Today, Broach Sports Tours fulfills baseball fans’ dreams of vacations for people who live and breathe the game.

 

Charlotte, N.C. – One year out of college, Tom Broach and a buddy, Doug Barnett, embarked on what they called the ultimate baseball adventure. In a week, they attended games at Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. They included a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown before returning home to Charlotte.

 

The trip planted a seed for what would become a thriving business, Broach Sports Tours (www.baseballtoursusa.com), more than a decade later.

 

“When we took that baseball-themed vacation in the late 1970s, we drove to the stadium, watched the game and then drove all night to the next city,” said Broach, who founded Broach Sports Tours in 1992. The company hosts tours for several sports, but primarily focuses on baseball. “We had so much fun that the next year, we visited Midwest ballparks in Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City and St. Louis. We even drove down too see Rangers and the Astros games before heading back home.”

 

At the time, the sports tour business idea was a distant dream for Broach. He had earned a degree in insurance and risk management from the University of Georgia and held a job in insurance sales. Broach continued to follow baseball closely – he is a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan – and his vision for opening a sports tour business remained in his mind.

 

“I had a feeling that people like Doug and I were not the only ones who liked seeing games in multiple ballparks during the same trip,” said Broach, who is now 51 and is a longtime high school football and basketball official in the Charlotte area. “Finally, I decided to leave my insurance job and follow my passion.”

 

In 1992, Broach Sports Tours debuted with three weekend baseball excursions from Charlotte to Atlanta. That winter, the company organized three Atlanta Falcons-themed trips.

 

“After the first year, I knew more of what to expect, so I introduced more extensive baseball tours,” Broach said. “I placed an ad in the local newspaper for a baseball tour of the Northeast (including Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park), and 45 people signed up. I added a Midwest trip and attracted the same level of interest.”

 

Broach’s hunch was right. There was a market for baseball-themed travel. In the company first few years, there were few others who specialized in sports vacations. Today, there are many competitors, but Broach takes pride in his role as a pioneer in the industry.

 

“One of my first customers was a woman who asked if my company was a fly by night operation out of my basement, and I told her, ‘No, we’re on the up and up. It’s in the attic.’” Broach said with a laugh. “She owns a white Volkswagen Beetle with red stitching marks on the wheels so her car looks like a baseball. She liked our tours so much that when she retired from teaching, she became one of our tour hosts.”

 

Broach Sports Tours has grown to a staff of eight, including four tour hosts. In 2008, the company has scheduled 26 baseball tours and more than 50 excursions overall. Though Broach has expended into sports like golf, tennis and basketball – offering vacations centered around events like the Masters, the Ryder Cup, Wimbledon and the NCAA Final Four – baseball is still the company’s specialty.

 

“We started with baseball, and though we have added tours in other spots, baseball is still the lead attraction,” Broach said.

 

With many Major League Baseball teams setting all-time attendance records, the sport’s popularity continues to grow, even in the wake of the Mitchell Report. Broach believes 2008 will be a busy year for baseball travel since Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium are in their final season, and Nationals Park in Washington D.C. will see its first pitch. Broach’s company has three separate tours in 2008 that will each cover all three parks.

 

“The goal for many of our guests is to see a game in every Major League stadium. They are baseball die-hards who talk about the game on and off the bus and debate facts like Ty Cobb’s career batting average,” Broach explained. “It’s often quiet in the morning when we leave the hotel and board the bus because most people are reading the newspaper and studying the previous night’s box scores.”

 

On one trip, a guest was so fanatic about seeing all of the games that he did not let a temporary health scare interfere.

 

“On a west coast tour, we were leaving San Diego on the way to Los Angeles. A father and his adult son were part of the tour,” Broach said. “The father started having a diabetic reaction, and our bus was inching along in heavy traffic. We finally reached an exit, where the ambulance met our bus. The man received treatment, was told by the paramedic that he would be fine and he insisted on returning to the bus and continuing the trip. and that’s what he did.”

 

Broach’s baseball tours are comprehensive and are not limited to the game. For example, the Northeast Interleague Mini-Tour from June 20-26 features transportation via a deluxe motorcoach; lodging; games at Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and Nationals Park; tours of Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium; guided tours of New York City and Boston; lunch at Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant in New York City; and a trip to the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

 

“If you are a baseball fan, our dream tours will be the best vacation you’ve ever taken. Our guests enjoy the camaraderie they develop from meeting other baseball fans and experiencing new parks,” Broach said. “They like the stadium tours, and exploring the city where the game is being held, but when the first pitch is thrown, they are focused on what’s happening on the field. After all, their love of baseball is what draws them to the trip.”

 

 

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