BIG DIPPER: NBA prices fall for first time in eight years, second time in FCI history
CHICAGO _ The average ticket to an NBA game just got a little cheaper, and so did taking a family to a game.
For the first time since the 2001-02 season, ticket prices fell for the league, as the aftereffects to the economic downturn of the last year, continue to show up in sports. This was the biggest drop ever for the league, and second-biggest in FCI history, behind the NHL’s 7.5 percent decrease for the 2005-06 season, which followed the season-long lockout.
In 2001-02, NBA teams cut prices by 2.3 percent. (Note: That was before TMR started separating tickets into general and premium categories. This decrease is only for general tickets, which do not include amenities.) None of the three other major North American leagues had an overall price decrease in 2009. The NHL was up just 0.1 percent to $51.27, while the NFL showed a 3.9 percent increase to $74.99. Thanks to two new stadiums in New York, baseball was up 5 percent to $26.64.
Fourteen teams show price decreases, while thirteen kept prices stagnant. The Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Hornets showed slight decreases, but none that consequential. New Orleans, which boasted the largest ticket increase at 6.3 percent ($26.75), is one of the team with significant sales growth, and is reportedly over 10,000 season plans sold. NBA execs pointed to Portland as another fast riser in ticket sales, and Atlanta is coming off a breakthrough season.
NBA teams have scores of special deals for fans, more than any other sport, and its teams are instructed to offer at least 500 tickets to every game for at least $10. Some teams, like the Dallas Mavericks, do better. The Mavs offer $2 tickets, the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers have $5 seats and the Jazz, which were one of the pioneers in ultra-cheap seats, have $6.50 tickets, which is the same price as the average beer in an NBA arena.
The World Champion Los Angeles Lakers continue their stranglehold on the top spot with an average ticket of $93.25. Again, as TMR policy, that price does not include “premium” seating, luxury clubs or suites. The estimated average for premium tickets in the NBA, not including suites, is slightly more than $200 per ticket. (A partial list of premium prices will be available at teammarketing.com on Monday, Nov. 2.)
The Boston Celtics, which also kept prices steady, have the second-most expensive tickets at $68.55. The New York Knicks cut prices 3.5 percent and now boast an average ticket of $68.04. The Chicago Bulls, also even from last year, are third at $64.25, just ahead of the Phoenix Suns, also even, at $64.16.
Accordingly these teams top the FCI lists as well, along with the Miami Heat. Thirteen teams have FCIs greater than the league average, which is down almost 1.4 percent from last year.
The Fan Cost Index™ comprises the prices of four (4) average-price tickets, two (2) small draft beers, four (4) small soft drinks, four (4) regular-size hot dogs, parking for one (1) car, two (2) game programs and two (2) least-expensive, adult-size adjustable caps. Costs were determined by telephone calls with representatives of the teams, venues and concessionaires, along with information provided on the teams’ official Web site, or through outside sources. Identical questions were asked in all interviews.
The biggest drop in prices was reported by the Indiana Pacers, whose average ticket is down 29.5 percent to $30.02. The cheapest ticket belongs to the Memphis Grizzlies at $24.10.
The Pacers reported to TMR that more than 1,000 new season ticket plans were sold after price drops were announced.
The New Jersey Nets, who have a new owner in Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who purchased a controlling interest in the team in September, cut prices dramatically. Their average of $44.51 is 19 percent less than last year, and is actually less than the Oklahoma City Thunder ($45.99). Though to the Nets do have one of the most expensive premium averages at $500.73 for a small allotment of seats.
The Thunder is one of two teams that needed retroactive price adjustments to last year’s figures, due to team and TMR errors. The Hawks, at $51.78, were the other.
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