Will tiered pricing price you out?

What happens when Greg Oden isn't there to justify the Portland price hike? (Credit: RM)

I don’t have an economics degree (that’s Travis), but anybody would agree that tickets to certain games are in higher demand than others. Obviously, you have your Super Bowl or Final Four tickets, but what about individual games during the season for your favorite franchise?

It’s arguable that NBA fans would pay more to see LeBron James rather than Antoine Walker, but this week has brought a new test to the theory.

For season ticket holders of the San Antonio Spurs, individual game tickets went on sale this week and there was a noticeable bump on the prices of some games. Fans with the option to buy now are reporting the season-opener against Portland, as well as games against conference rival Phoenix and intra-state rivals Dallas and Houston are higher than most other games.

A supposed Spurs season-ticket holder said prices were increasing about 50-100 percent for the aforementioned games. That’s interesting.

A look at the seating chart and pricing (warning: PDF) for the AT&T Center reads "Tiered pricing will be in effect for select games."

I believe people will pay more for better games with arguably better players. The initial reaction around the Spurs message boards when Thursday’s news of the injury to Greg Oden and the ticket pricing was discovered was that the price for the Trail Blazers game might drop. That’s not going to happen considering it’s also expected to be the night when the Spurs receive their championship rings.

But think for a second if the game were scheduled a week later – would the pricing have to drop some with Oden missing the game? The casual NBA fan might not be so apt to shell out a little more money for the game while a deeper fan would recognize the Blazers have a solid, young core of players in Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Sergio Rodriguez and Raef LaFrentz (okay, you can stop laughing at the last one) that should be very entertaining to watch develop into a championship contender once their man in the middle returns.

What happens if Dirk Nowitzki goes down with an injury a month before Spurs vs. Mavs? Do the Spurs drop prices on tickets and risk an iPhone-like backlash or do they run the risk of not selling out the arena for what would still likely be a nationally-televised game?

The Spurs dealt with an embarrassing ticket situation following the Western Conference Semifinals against Phoenix last season. Following the emotional exhaustion of the victory over the Suns, there was such a quick turnaround – late Friday to midday Sunday/Father’s Day – to the matchup against the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, that the game didn’t come relatively close to a sellout (officially more than 450, but eyewitness accounts bump that number a little higher).

On the flip side, would teams reduce prices for games that might not sell? Doubtful. First, if your team is successful at bringing in fans at your pre-determined price, why drop the price and lose profits? People are already paying the set price and I don’t see a backlash coming unless your team flat out sucks and ownership fails to try and pour money back into the franchise to rebuild (see: Pirates, Pittsburgh; Lions, Detroit).

But as the NBA has seen its marketing go time and again (and as Scooter has pointed out) with the focus on individuals versus teams, the time when ticket prices rise for a game against a great team with less marketable (for whatever reason) stars will not come soon enough.

Granted, this is nothing new and MLB is approaching record attendance numbers (most on the high side and a few on the low side). The other factors will come into play, too, such as overall ticket pricing, local market economy, total costs of attendance, etc.

So the question finally arises: At what price point will you pay to see your favorite team play against a stellar rival versus one against an also-ran? Would you also demand to pay less for the lesser teams?


Joe
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Joe is a guest contributor to laissez-faire ball.

Not a lot of fish in the sea

So lonely...

Have you ever gone to a baseball game and tried to sneak into better seating than you purchased? If so, then Wednesday’s Nationals-Marlins game appears as if it wouldn’t have been much of a challenge.

According to published reports, there were around 400 people in the stands at Dolphins Stadium at the start of the game even though the paid attendance number floating around is 10,121.

Any team official worth their embroidered team shirt will tell you it’s the gate that counts, but this is simply embarrassing for the Marlins and the people of Miami. But they’ve pretty much shown they couldn’t care less about the pinstriped fish until they make the postseason.

In fact, the crowd was so sparse; a fan was ejected for heckling home plate umpire Paul Schreiber so loud his jeers were apparently heard on the telecast. The Washington Post (with such a delicious word play on its headline) describes the scene:

The man was so loud, and the atmosphere so quiet, the fan could be heard saying "you don't make more than me" on the television broadcast as he was forced to leave.

I haven’t overheard anything yet, but I’m just picking random spots before the fifth and listening for an at-bat or so. I do hear an echoing chant of “Let’s go, Marlins,” though. After continuing to watch and listen to the broadcast, I can hear distinct heckles, but not enough to hear exactly what’s being yelled.

Speaking of paychecks, Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo (1 for 6 with a 2-run homer) could have taken his game check and purchased an authentic Marlins cap for each fan through the gate at Dolphins Stadium. Olivo reportedly is making $2 million this year / 162 games = just over $30.

He might want to do that. I don’t think the Marlins can afford to lose any more fans.

Enough of that, though. Let’s look at the major money factor. Ten thousand paid seats sold and a crowd of about 400 can’t be profitable unless the concessions operator closed all but two beer stands and jacked up the price of a brew to about $450/cup.

Talk around the Miami area says people don’t want to sit during midday heat and humidity to watch a battle for the first amateur draft pick and that’s totally understandable. It’s just I just can’t imagine the profits of a team like this and sadly, I also can’t picture how an indoor stadium or one with a retractable roof will suddenly bring the gate attendance to the fifth digit.

The city of Miami does not deserve a team they can’t – or choose not to – support.

On the same evening, the San Antonio Missions (the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres) drew around 3,200 for the second game of the Texas League’s championship series. Knowing the attendance numbers at that ballpark, it was probably a solid 2,800. Lately, the weather has been just as unbearable in SA as it reads in Miami – and granted the TLCS was a night game – but even this city that rarely supports any franchise not named the Spurs showed some support for the home team.

Well, enough support to make sure the concessions employees were paid.


Joe
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Joe is a guest contributor to laissez-faire ball.

A community-selfish ownership move: Nothing wrong with that

It's coming.

Just as we thought might be the case, it is really looking like the Sonics will move to Oklahoma City.

With all that joy that Seattle fans had generated after drafting Kevin Durant, they have to be letting out a collective whimper. When a franchise decides to make a true youth movement and start from scratch, it can be one of the most exciting things that can happen for a fan base. Watching your young players grow and mature and gradually win more games as the develop, fans get a certain feeling of involvement with that team that just isn't the same as with teams that acquire most of their talent from free agency or through trades. The reward is so much greater when you get to watch your team blossom from scratch. That's why, subconsciously, this inevitable move is stinging the true Sonics fans out there in a major way.

What is most convincing about the potential of a move is that these Sonics owners are prepared to net a loss in moving the team to Oklahoma City. Aubrey McLendon, who the above article is about, said as much.

"But we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here. We know it’s a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it’s great for the community and if we could break even we’d be thrilled."

It's a strange thought on ownership that I honestly never considered. A rich man loves the area he lives in. The community, the area, everything about it. This is where him and his other rich friends want to spend money, work and live. By happenstance, a tragedy befalls another team's city and they temporarily reside in said rich guys' area. They know that due to the precarious political situation in the town the tragedy befell, they would likely not be afforded the opportunity to purchase that team. So, knowing the temporary team will eventually return to their old city, they seek out another team to purchase.

Clay Bennett saw his opportunity. The Sonics had been having some major problems in getting a new stadium built in Seattle for some time now. Seeing an opportunity to nab a franchise that could potentially move cities, Bennett and his compadres moved in. Their thoughts from the beginning were to move a team to Oklahoma City, that has become rather clear. Of course, they fed some public relations lines to the fans about wanting to stay in Seattle, and they will likely do that same until the move to Oklahoma is approved.

And good for them. Of course, the fans in Seattle are getting screwed pretty good by no control of their own. Unfortunately for them, it isn't their team. It's owned by the guys who purchase it. Sorry, that's how it works.

Now, the ownership group headed by Bennett will be able to move a professional sports team into their backyard, likely helping to pump money into their hometown economy and have a professional pet project to groom. Fortunately enough for them, their pet project is already looking like it has the makings of a thoroughbred.

Reasonably yours,
Scooter
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Warriors have to be wanting some Yi

As I discussed at the end of my last post, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Yi Jianlian with the sixth overall pick in Thursday's NBA draft. Yi's request to have a team that was in a large metropolitan area with a high Chinese population select him obviously went on deaf ears, and he is now headed to Milwaukee...for now.

My theory is that as soon as Milwaukee selected Yi, Don Nelson and his cohorts with the Golden State Warriors immediately started making moves to get Yi in Oakland.

As I am sure the Warriors were intently watching, the Charlotte Bobcats selected Brandan Wright with the eighth overall selection. Michael Jordan, who is evidently calling the shots for Charlotte personnel moves had publicly stated he was tired of losing as the Bobcats have been since their inception in 2004. It looked as if the Bobcats were looking for a veteran who could make a big impact immediately. Golden State saw this opportunity and jumped right on it.

So, now Golden State holds the player that was selected two picks after Yi, readying them to offer Milwaukee a do-over and obtaining a player the Bucks would have been justified in selecting at the No. 6 pick. Depending on how enamoured the Warriors are with Yi and how impatient the Bucks get with Yi's lack of desire to play in Milwaukee, an even swap could be in the cards. The Warriors don't have very many spare pieces laying around with Matt Barnes likely leaving to be overpaid elsewhere and Mickael Pietrus becoming a restricted free agent. I could see them packaging Wright with their bonehead draft selection last year, Patrick O'Bryant, in an effort to convince the Bucks to part with Yi.

The reasons the Warriors are likely so high on getting Yi to the Bay Area has to do with several factors.

First and foremost, Yi is the exact type of player Don Nelson can mold into a success in the NBA game. See Yi as Nellie's latter-day Dirk Nowitzki. Nellie is accustomed to dealing with language barriers, coaching players who aren't interested in playing defense and being viewed as a Godfather-type figure. If he can get Yi to work up to his potential, he'll be canonized with God-like status as he was with Mavericks fans before Mark Cuban started villianizing him.

Secondly, Yi would be a perfect fit in Oakland because of the Bay Area's huge Asian population. San Francisco and Oakland combine to have the second most Chinese Americans in the country (behind New York City) and have easily the most Chinese Americans per capita of any area of the United States. Financially, Yi's presence in such an area would pull a windfall of support from a faction of fans that probably never would have attended a game before, but now will be attending games, buying T-shirts, and generally putting wads of cash into Warriors owner Chris Cohan's pocket.

Third, from everything I hear and read about Yi, he seems perfect for the system that Golden State employs. Athleticism, jump shooting and ball movement are cornerstones of their success, and these are what Yi excels in. Notice defense isn't listed there, which means he'll fit in perfectly with Golden State.

There is word out that Yi would consider not reporting to play for the Bucks if they don't trade him and that it is a distinct possibility he will never play for the Bucks.

My feelings on the subject have always been very cut-and-dry. If you enter a draft for a sport, you are submitting to the possibility of going to whomever chooses you. That's why it's called a draft. Yi is already getting close to being Dead to Me in the sports world, joining John Elway, Steve Francis, Kiki Vandeweghe, Eli Manning et. al. For what's it's worth, I currently wish for a career-ending injury for anyone who pulls this move. Call me vindictive, I feel very strongly about this issue.

So, on one hand, for basketball sense, I hope Yi gets traded to the Warriors. For personal sense, I hope his knees explode in a glorious, career-ending injury if he forces his way out of Milwaukee. I'm sure he's losing sleep over my feelings right now.

Reasonably yours,
Scooter
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Time to revive Pacific Northwest basketball fandom

I must admit, I am salivating at the thought of the combined futures of the Pacific Northwest's two new superstars. With little distance between Greg Oden (who will assuredly be selected by the Portland Trail Blazers) and Kevin Durant (who will be taken by the Seattle Supersonics), the future for these two is obviously very bright.

It's obviously too early to call the rivalry they will likely have on par with some of the great rivalries in the past. Howeverm the greatest part is that their potential rivalry will be unique for several reasons.

1) Durant is competitive enough to see his draft position slipping below Oden by one spot as a major slight. Having put together the ridiculous season Durant did, he probably sees himself as the rightful owner as the top draft pick. Given, Oden had a good season with Ohio State, but honestly, it's not like his play was that impressive. It's obvious to the rest of us why the Blazers will take Oden at the No. 1 slot, he's one of a dying breed of skilled big men who actually want to be big men and dominate the post. But, in Durant's mind, a certain amount of bitterness has to be manifesting itself that will surely drive him to hungrily pursue Oden's team for the rest of his career.

2) Unlike some of the rivalries of old, such as Bird vs. Magic and Russell vs. Chamberlain, Durant and Oden will enter the league at the exact same time at the same age only one pick apart as a consensus No. 1 and 2. With everyone after them in the draft being toss-ups, the two of them from this draft class will constantly be compared, and their career paths will be analyzed in the same breath until one or both of them retires. Media exposure and the eventual commercial tie-ins will never let this die.

3) Unlike many of the rivalries throughout the years (namely Bird vs. Magic, Hakeem vs. Robinson, Jordan vs. Malone/Stockton) most of the more interesting ones haven't been intra-divisional, and if they were, they weren't as close in proximity as Portland and Seattle. With Nate McMillan defecting from the Sonics almost two years ago, the embers of a geographical rivalry have already been stoked between the two cities, and it's something neither will likely just forget about. Add all that to them playing each other four times every year and many inevitable face-offs in the playoffs, and it really looks like this could turn into a strong rivalry.

4) The two cities have embraced players such as these for their championships past. Seattle won with a dynamic scorer and Portland won with a dominant center. These guys match their respective city's formula of the past, it's just too perfect.

Now, just to play devil's advocate on myself for a bit, let's consider the things that could really screw this thing up. The first one is pretty obvious.

1) Both of them have to be damn good. If both of them don't live up to the hype or one suffers major injuries, this derails the whole plan. But, come on, they're both really good, so let's just assume they're both going to turn out to be badasses.

2) The Sonics move out of Seattle. OK, this is one is a good possibility. However, with the Sonics landing Durant, and basically overhauling their entire front office, the city of Seattle may come around to funding a new stadium if they see the product as up and coming that will boost the city's economy, and in turn, the owner may be inclined to keep the team in Seattle. It should be noted that if the Sonics do move out of Seattle, it will be the longest that an NBA team has been in one city before being moved to another.

But, even if the Sonics leave Seattle, I can still see the rivalry running strong despite the distance.

Here's hoping things go as planned, I am really dying for an interesting rivalry with some solid bases.

Oh, who am I kidding? The Sonics are leaving Seattle. Dammit.

Reasonably yours,
Scooter
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Will the NHL ever learn a lesson?

In case anyone wasn't sure if the NHL was still a part of the "Big 4" of pro sports in America, we have some stone-cold proof that is no longer in that group.

Neilsen Media Research is reporting that Saturday night's Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC equaled the lowest rated prime-time program in network history. It tied a July 2005 repeat of The West Wing.

I really don't have much to say about hockey as I join the rest of America in not giving half a crap about it. I am from Southeast Texas...we don't do hockey. It can't be too much longer before hockey realizes its American impact is going down the tubes and it assumes the role of a regionally popular sport that stays up north and in Canada. The NHL as a league has overextended itself, assuming that fans across the U.S. would support it. The best advice I have heard for any owner who isn't earning the dividends they want, is to move it to Canada, where it belongs in the first place.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's misguided attempts to push hockey further in America than tap into the bundles of fans in Canada is killing the league, and some owners really should consider moving franchises out of bad U.S. hockey markets. Bettman is pushing the potential owner of the Nashville Predators to stay in a moribund NHL market. And the prospective owner has said he'll agree to it, which would likely have the Predators in Nashville for seven years more. Nashville. Some people need an injection of common sense. Move it back to the great white north or continue to bleed money. It's very simple.

But hey, at least I could care less about hockey and it's ultimate fate as a second-tier sport. And not so surprisingly, I have a lot of buddies that are members of that club also.

Reasonably yours,
Scooter
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Why do NBA fans turn off?

As NBA watchers continue to act disinterested and bored, and both Conference Finals are still halfway competitive at 2-1 apiece, one has to wonder why everyone is so disgusted with the things that have taken place thus far in the NBA playoffs.

With the madness that occurred in the Western Semifinals, many were up in arms about the best series in the playoffs fouled up by a misguided rule and the overly strict implementation of it. The NBA was right in suspending Stoudemire and Diaw, but only because they had a specifically stated rule with clear-cut language. However, the NBA failed miserably in not having revisited this rule previously to at least have some discretion included. But, this issue has been hammered home so many times that it's tired, so we'll drop it for now.

The issue that is still at hand — why everyone is disinterested in the NBA right now — remains unsolved. I had the benefit of being out of the country when all of the Suns/Spurs bru-ha-ha went down, thus sparing me from all the rhetoric on both sides of the argument. So, coming into the situation, I have few biases spread by the national media. As an NBA fan, I am still interested in the playoffs, and will watch every game. But I am not excited. And, as I said before, I am not alone.

Before I start, I would like to make a few quick distinctions.

NBA fans are people who will follow happenings and games in the NBA no matter what.

Sports fans will follow sports, and will pay attention to the sport that is most compelling.

Fans of a specific NBA team may also be NBA fans in general, but that isn't always true.

Here's are the reasons I have nailed down as the reasons everyone is so disenfranchised:

1. Forgone conclusion
In these conference finals, most sports fans and NBA fans have made the forgone conclusion that the Spurs will win the West and the Pistons will win the East.
Predictability breeds disinterest, and until this thing has one of the underdogs take the lead in the series or push it to a seventh game, many sports fans will turn their attention elsewhere.

2. Nash love
America loves Steve Nash, a white superstar and a back-to-back-MVP. Without Nash in it, many sports fans and NBA fans became disinterested when the man they secretly (or openly) love is dispatched after having such an exciting, dominating season.

3. Suns are exciting, others aren't
With an up-tempo style that produces highlight after highlight when it is running on all cylinders, people love to watch Phoenix play. Every team left plays a much more grueling (or in Cleveland's case gruesome) style of ball.

4. No superstars
LeBron James is the only remaining sexy star left in the playoffs. Tim Duncan is a star, but doesn't command as much attention because of his lack of flash and for another reason that I'll get to in a bit. Utah's tandem of Boozer and Deron Williams may make waves in a few years, but aren't there yet. Detroit is a team, but no real individual stars really still exist.

5. It's tainted
Many sports fans are still bitter that the series that was most compelling to them — San Antonio vs. Phoenix — had an air of taint to it. When Robert Horry decked Nash and Stoudemire and Diaw flew off the bench, many saw this as an instinctual reaction, and with a lack of understanding or respect for the rules in place, many sports fans will scoff at the result of that series as another rigged NBA contest. Never mind the fact that if the NBA were going to rig it anyone's way, it would be the Suns, but that's a topic for another day.

6. These aren't the matchups everyone has been waiting to see.
All season, NBA watchers across the nation have been waiting to see Mavs vs. Spurs or Mavs vs. Suns. In the East, the nation would have much preferred a Bulls vs. Cavaliers Conference Finals. The Mavs didn't do their part, and the Pistons are way better than the Bulls, so nobody should really be surprised anyway.

7. Same old thing
It happens to every great team. People get tired of seeing the same successful teams over and over. Nowadays, the Spurs are always either winning it, or in the hunt. The Pistons are the same to a lesser degree.

(Now here's the real reason, but it's the one nobody realizes or recognizes)

8. Unattractive market
Tony Parker said it best:

"If our team was in New York, there would be a different perception of our team," Parker said. "They'd be talking crazy about Manu and Timmy and stuff like that. But we're in San Antonio. Don't get me wrong; I love San Antonio. But I'm just saying that different markets, I guess . . . if our team was in New York, it would be huge."
Story

This describes the subconscious attitude of many NBA fans and sports fans and I couldn't have said it better myself. It isn't just the Spurs right now, and right now, there are four of the least sexy markets in all of basketball (save Milwaukee and Minnesota) in the mix. Detroit has a metroplex of 5.4 million, Cleveland's has 2.2 million, San Antonio's has 1.9 million and Salt Lake City has a mere 1 million. As far as NBA markets go, Detroit is really the only one that is of any real size. Plus, who the hell ever wants to go to Detroit. It's bleak. Cleveland is a beleaguered sports town that hasn't ever really been successful and has little that is atttractive to the rest of the country besides LeBron. San Antonio is in the middle of Texas, and really has little else to offer of national interest beyond the Spurs and the Alamo. Utah...well, it's Utah.

My point is that there isn't anything to compel national sports fans to these unattractive markets. There is something interesting about seeing things happen in New York, Los Angeles...hell, even a place like Denver or Phoenix.


My question to my fair reader(s) is:

Why is America disinterested in the NBA?


Reasonably yours,
Scooter
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Oklahoma City/Kansas City/Las Vegas Sonics face interesting situation

Despite the yearning desires of Celtics fans and ESPN, the franchise with the most NBA championships in league history came up very, very short in today's lottery drawing. With the second best chance to win the lottery (19.9%), Boston ended up with the fifth overall pick, the worst possible pick they could have gotten.

Two franchises in small markets came up large. My favorite is the speculation that almost always comes about concerning a fixed lottery drawing. It's always a bit refreshing when two teams that the NBA would really have no reason whatsoever to endorse end up winning the picks that matter. The Portland Trail Blazers won the first overall pick and the Seattle Supersonics won the second overall pick.

Portland is one of the smallest markets in the NBA, but have a reasonably rabid fan base when the team is competitive. But, for interest's sake, we'll focus on the Sonics. Sonics Chairman Clay Bennett has made his intentions to move the franchise out of Seattle less than subtle. Oklahoma City has shown itself to be a legitimate NBA city by its successful temporary hosting of the Hornets while New Orleans put itself back together. Some other cities, including Kansas City and Las Vegas have jumped into the fray also. Since Seattle and Washington state have basically told the Sonics that a new arena in Seattle isn't going to happen without substantial funding from the franchise, Bennett has sought to move the team elsewhere so that the team will be in a newer facility and have the potential to gain more revenue from a city that is hungry for a basketball team.

The Sonics without a GM and head coach, it seems that a completely fresh start is coming. With either Kevin Durant or Greg Oden soon to become a Sonic, the franchise really does find itself in a unique situation. They'll be in Seattle for at least the next season, so starting clean completely this coming season just won't happen. One of the most interesting subplots this coming season will be how the city of Seattle reacts to an exciting young player in a city that is preparing to have their long-time NBA team moved elsewhere. How Oden or Durant (whichever falls to them) reacts to the situation will be equally interesting. Now, if somehow a move to Vegas happens, expect me to have an aneurysm of interest in that situation. A potential post on the NBA's potential in Vegas is coming soon.

Reasonably yours,
Scooter
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