Inside the rise of franchise-based MLB theme games

When the Boston Red Sox first opened up preregistration for the team’s Aug. 31 Heated Rivalry theme game, based on the hit romance novel-turned HBO Max show, more than 16,000 people got on the list. Even so, Travis Pollio, senior director of ticket strategy and promotions, wasn’t sure if initial interest would actually translate into ticket sales.

But when tickets went live to the general public on April 30, “we were selling literally hundreds to thousands in minutes,” he told Marketing Brew. VIP tickets that came with themed jerseys and hats, of which the team offered a few thousand, were gone in seven minutes, he said, and the team sold over 12,000 tickets in two days. By mid-May, the game was sold out entirely.

Across the country that same month, the Seattle Mariners launched a VIP package including special jackets and book sleeves for the team’s Fourth Wing theme night, based off of the best-selling fantasy series, and the 500 available tickets sold out in under two hours, according to Alexandra Layman, senior manager of group events. By July 9, the team had sold 9,400 tickets.

“Theme nights have definitely been a success for us in terms of how our clubs are able to…leverage them from a fan-engagement standpoint, as well as a ticket-sales standpoint,” MLB CMO Uzma Rawn Dowler said. “We have some fun with it, too.”

Theme games are nothing new for the league, but for many teams, the nature and scope of them have changed. The Red Sox, which hosted their first-ever theme night in 2013, will put on about 60 to 65 theme games this season, which have become an increasingly important contributor to ticket sales, Pollio said.

They’re largely designed for people who are not already baseball die-hards, meant to “bring new fans into the ecosystem, and into our ballparks, that might not traditionally think to go to a baseball game,” Rawn Dowler said.

Some of the themes, like Toy Story 5 and Hello Kitty games, reflect MLB’s recent focus on younger generations, while others, like nights for Fourth Wing and Heated Rivalry, indicate baseball’s efforts to cement more women fans. But with each team playing 162 regular-season games per season, there’s something for just about everyone, from fans of the papacy to the uninitiated.

Are you not entertained?

Theme games tied to major entertainment properties, like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters, and Pokémon Go, have become increasingly popular across MLB teams. From 2024 to 2025, “pop culture–centric programming” across the league increased by 38%, while sales of ticket packages tied to that programming have increased by 13%, according to MLB.

The league coordinates with some properties to create theme-game opportunities that teams can choose to leverage, but teams are also at liberty to come up with their own theme ideas.

The Mariners struck up a relationship with Toei Animation to host a One Piece night in March; the 8,000 available tickets sold out in 36 hours, Layman said. In 2023, the Red Sox worked with Warner Bros. for a Barbie theme game tied to the at-home release of the movie, renaming Fenway Park “Kenway Park” for the occasion, Pollio said. It was something of a turning point for the team’s theme games, and was one of its first that went relatively viral. Several teams now host Barbie theme games.

Entertainment properties can also offer enduring fandom year after year. Harry Potter and Star Wars theme games are annual staples for the Red Sox, and teams across the league can leverage both properties.

The Atlanta Braves opt into Star Wars games, too, and when it comes to leaguewide themes, the team tries to think outside the box to activate beyond “just the obvious,” SVP of Marketing Adam Zimmerman told us. Since the team’s Truist Park is connected to an entertainment and shopping complex, Zimmerman is focused on engaging non-ticketed potential fans in the complex; on Star Wars nights, characters walk around outside the park in an effort to “bring the inside out,” he said.

Little league

While some theme games have mass appeal, others are designed with more specific audiences in mind, like kids and families.

The Red Sox hosted a Diary of a Wimpy Kid game in April, inspired by Pollio’s son’s love of the book series, which ended up being “a great success…for young families,” he said. The Mariners had sold 11,600 tickets to their September Hello Kitty theme game by mid-July, and the team is gearing up for its first Care Bears and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood nights, both taking place in August, Layman said. Sesame Street, Hello Kitty, and Pokémon Go games have since become “legacy events” that the team hosts annually, she said.

“We really want to sustainably grow our fanbase,” Layman said. “We want someone to come as a family, as a child, have a great time with their parents, and then become a Mariners fan for life.”

Crack a book

Between the Red Sox’s Heated Rivalry game, the Chicago White Sox’s sold-out Windy City Series Night with the author of the Chicago sports romance novels, and a league-level deal for Fourth Wing nights, book-releated themes are also on the rise across MLB, especially as a way to reach women and new fans.

During the 2025 season, 56% of theme-game attendees were first-time ticket buyers, and 45% of those first-time buyers were women, Rawn Dowler said.

“Books are the way of the future,” Layman said. “We have a lot of female readers, and some of these big book franchises are very attractive, so I think that’s where my 2027 brain is going. How can we lean into books?”

See you again

For the Braves, it’s music that attracts new, global audiences to Truist Park, Zimmerman said. The team has collaborated with artists including OutKast, Usher, Jermaine Dupri, Kane Brown, and T.I.

Pollio said cultural heritage nights honoring local groups and cultures, which have long been a staple in MLB, also tend to attract first-time fans. That may have been true last week when the Orioles honored Grammy-winning Baltimore-based hardcore band Turnstile with their own theme night at Camden Yards.

Once those newcomers are through the gates, the challenge then becomes getting them to return for themed or non-themed games. By and large, teams are attempting to lock in long-term fans by making sure that games are enjoyable and memorable—beyond offers of Heated Rivalry jerseys and Fourth Wing bomber jackets.

“We want to ensure that the experience is top tier, and that fans, quite honestly, are planning their next visit to the ballpark soon after leaving their first, if not before,” Rawn Dowler said.