Finding new ways for the Seattle community to connect with the ballpark through non-gameday events.
Watching the sellout crowd rise to their feet on a chilly January afternoon inside T-Mobile Park, Alisia Anderson looked around with a smile as she had just completed execution of another innovative use for the ballpark: Hosting the 2024 NHL Winter Classic between the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, the stadium’s first ever hockey event. The Mariners were months into their offseason when the Kraken player introductions and in-stadium entertainment features began, but the ballpark’s ability to continue housing different events while the team is away is one of the most exciting ways for the Mariners organization to unite the Seattle community, and Anderson’s ballpark operations team is the brains behind it all.
Anderson was always around sports growing up but typically found herself enjoying off-the-field roles. She was a manager, statistician, and cheerleader at different points throughout high school, and worked for Penn State’s football team in recruiting and administration during her college years. “Through these roles, I gained valuable experience and developed the beginning of an understanding about the business side of sports,” Anderson said. Upon graduation, she was selected into the Management Associate Program at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas. “It was a six-month internship where I spent weeks in each department of the hotel, learning line-level tactical skills, operational management, and strategic planning,” she said. After completing the program, Anderson was hired back as a business development manager, and worked to develop special events within the company for eight years.
In 2014, Anderson was hired by the Mariners as the director of ballpark sales and marketing. She was responsible for fostering relationships with clients and exposing them to the unique opportunities of events at the ballpark. “Being at a large facility, working on complex events is what I love doing and T-Mobile Park and the Mariners presented that opportunity,” she said. Through the next decade, she moved up the ladder into various roles all centered around ballpark operations, including senior director of event sales and senior director of venue strategy and events.
While developing her craft through her first years with the company, Anderson’s main goal was to expand major ticketed events. She started out organizing smaller facility rentals like graduations and corporate events, and when she was promoted in 2017, she was in charge of booking all concerts and other larger events. That year, she helped T-Mobile Park become the first stadium to host TopGolf, as well as bringing the Nitro Circus Tour to the facility. She also booked her first concert, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, on their 40th Anniversary Tour. “It was the first milestone for me to take over larger events,” Anderson remembered.
Since then, she’s proud of the larger bookings she’s been able to secure for the ballpark, such as Enchant, a massive winter installation that has become a regular annual tenant and operates throughout a whole month. Anderson also led the team that produced a very successful NHL Winter Classic, the first time that T-Mobile Park had hosted a hockey game. “It’s a lot of fun for me, with a lot of variety and opportunity,” Anderson said. “I like having a constant challenge.”
In her current role as vice president of ballpark operations, Anderson oversees several operating departments while focusing on non-gameday events at the ballpark. She works with the special events, guest experience, operations, security, and parking teams daily to ensure smooth operation of the facility, as well as writing budgets, staffing models, and logistics. “Each day is different,” she said. “I’m looking at how our fans experience the ballpark and what we can do to push the guest experience to the next level.” While leading the ballpark’s event staff, Anderson also works with external clients to book their events and bring exciting opportunities to the Seattle community.
Throughout her time in the industry and specifically with the Mariners, Anderson has encountered numerous women that inspire her to innovate and push for excellence. “I’m fortunate to already have people that have lived that experience who serve as mentors and provide guidance, especially because that wouldn’t have been the case 50 years ago,” she said. The Mariners have been an important resource for her to expand her relationships with like-minded women and further the advancement of career opportunities. “The Mariners have a wide and deep network of female professionals within the organization with all types of staff, from entry level all the way up to executive leadership,” Anderson said. She commented on having a stronger network of female professionals at the Mariners than she has anywhere else in her career.
With over ten years of experience with the Mariners’ ballpark operations team, Anderson continues to bring new event opportunities to the stadium, and has enjoyed every way she’s been able to connect with both ballpark attendees and different organizational departments. “I’ve been fortunate to have so many supportive mentors and colleagues throughout my time at the Mariners,” she said. “Reflecting on the last 11 seasons, I am deeply grateful for the opportunities to take calculated risks, have my voice heard, and make a meaningful impact within the organization.”