WHAT IDEAS WILL feed the baseball monster with new revenue? Well, probably things like the Phillies' Power Ticket, which allows any ticket bought to have concession credit of varying amounts added to the bar code. Team exec David Buck notes that a group coming to the park might want to put $10 on every ticket while someone who knows their client makes a few trips for food "might add $40 of food on each ticket." Those are swiped as fans leave the concession area.

That technology, he adds, also gives the team insight into some of their basic customer-service practices. By fans having their bar code swiped as they enter the ballpark, "we know what time these tickets come into the ballpark and we know what gate they come to, so we know how to staff the parking lots," Buck says. "We know how early to open Ashburn Alley, because we know that 2,400 people on an average weekday will be in the gates before 5:30."

Advances in gathering content and distributing it figure to cultivate more revenue sources. "It's the old line, content is king, and the more you can provide in this day and age of 'I want it now' extends to everything you're trying to do," he says.

Major League Baseball tapes every game that every team plays and by 9 or so the next morning offers fans a chance to watch the entire game or an abridged version, all the hits and outs edited to 22 minutes. "I don't think a whole lot of people realize it's out there," says Buck. "That's the first stage of it. The second stage is how it gets distributed to the fans. Right now it's on phillies.com, but someday soon it could be on your local rights-holder . . . or come across on your phone. That's not in the too-distant future."

Who needs a Hope Diamond . . .

. . . When you can own your Eagles-themed Swarovski crystal-studded helmet-shaped handbag for 3 grand? That was among the items for "the glamorous female football fan" on display at the NFL's recent Hardlines VI Trade Show. *

- Paul Vigna

Panel's views on a dinner fantasy? See go.philly.com/meals

Join the panel? Send e-mail to vignap@phillynews.com.