With only days left until the first pitch in the AirHogs' home opener Friday, the team's front office is making a pitch of its own.

To potential fans, that is.

In its first year in Grand Prairie, the town's minor league professional baseball team is competing for fans against nearly a dozen of the area's professional sports teams.

"There's a lot of noise, a lot of clutter in this market," said Erin Patton, a sports marketing professor at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business. "It's a double-edged sword. You have a fertile fan base who love sports and love entertainment ... the downside is everybody knows that."

Mr. Patton said the challenge for the AirHogs will be to develop a community fan base while creating legitimacy as an entertainment source.

"You can come in and get a season done or a couple of seasons done. But it's about creating a business model that's sustainable over time," Mr. Patton said. "You can start a flame, but can you create a fire?"

For the city of Grand Prairie, there's even more of an incentive to create a fire and sustain it. The Grand Prairie Sports Facilities Development Corp., a city board, owns the ballpark and will receive a portion of its revenues.

Voters last year approved building the minor league park. But if the AirHogs, or the American Association of Independent Baseball, isn't successful, the sports board is left with a ballpark without a team.

Mayor Charles England acknowledges that several start-up independent baseball leagues have failed over time. He said the American Association isn't one of them.

"In independent ball they seem to be one of the leaders, if not the leader," he said.

The mayor said it'll take time to determine whether the AirHogs are successful. But he's sure fans will like what they see in Grand Prairie.

"I'm excited about it. There's a real market for that kind of baseball that's affordable," he said.

AirHogs general partner Mark Schuster likens the challenges of competing in this type of market to those of the St. Paul Saints in Minnesota. The Saints and AirHogs – both members of the American Association of Independent Baseball – sit in the shadow of major league franchises.

The Saints have found a way to coexist with the big boys.

The club has sold out nearly every home game for the last several years. The team does it by offering affordable prices and promotional gimmicks that ensure fans have a unique experience, one they may not get in the major leagues.

During their games, a live pig delivers baseballs to the umpire, a nun gives massages to fans in the stands and a man dressed in 1970s cheerleading garb rallies the crowd.

Derek Sharer, the Saints' general manager, said the team caters to families and fun. It seems to be working.

The Saints led the league in attendance last year, attracting nearly 300,000 – or about 6,205 per game during the team's 48 home dates.

North Texas' only other American Association team, the Fort Worth Cats, has survived the competitive market locally. Last season, the Cats drew an average of 4,157 fans to each of their 34 home games.

AirHogs ownership said it can steal the Saints' and Cats' business basics by providing an affordable, fun alternative.

David Burke, the AirHogs' general manager, said the Grand Prairie club isn't looking to push fans away from the Texas Rangers, who play their games less than six miles away.

"It's two different brands of baseball," Mr. Burke said. "Major league baseball is about the play on the field. Minor league baseball, it's about the play on the field, but it's about customer service. We want fans to come into a relaxed, intimate setting where they don't have to go to the bank before and take out a loan."

Tickets behind home plate at a Rangers game cost $60 to $100. AirHogs will offer home plate seating for $8 to $12.

Mr. Burke said the AirHogs can provide affordable baseball because the team doesn't pay players millions of dollars. Most of the AirHogs' players average $1,500 to $1,700 per month.

The AirHogs' new stadium, the $20 million QuikTrip Park at Grand Prairie, embodies the AirHogs' spirit of winning over the fans with fun, Mr. Schuster said. It will seat 6,000 and feature a park for children, a swimming pool, a picnic area, a full-service restaurant and a cigar bar.

"For us, it's really pretty simple," Mr. Schuster said. "If your customers, your fans, come to the ballpark, have a great time, and are treated well for a fair price, they will come back."