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If you’re a sports fan, you probably are aware that the National Basketball Association recently ended a labor dispute in time to salvage part of its season, which will begin with a tripleheader on Christmas Day. While the owners were partially successful in establishing a salary cap for future years, does this mean that fans will begin to see some concessions on ticket prices as well? My guess is, they’ll tell you to take a flying leap.Although ticket prices were down a smidgen in the 2010-11 season, attendance was up only 1%, to 21,305,573. In fact, NBA attendance has been stagnant or declined in each of the past seven years, a trend that bodes evil to the sport with nine-digit salary packages. Forbes recently reported that the league has lost $1.5 billion in the past five years.
That’s no surprise to me. The NBA is no place for the casual fan or a family excursion, unless your last name is something like Trump or Kardashian. Take a look at these prices, as calculated by Team Marketing Report. It compared the price of a family outing– four tickets, two small beers, four soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking for one car, two game programs and two souvenir hats, at all the NBA venues. The worst values?
New York Knicks, $505.64Los Angeles Lakers, $488.94Boston Celtics, $392.70Miami Heat, $380.00Chicago Bulls, $365.00
Not surprisingly, most of these teams are playoff-caliber.
The best values in your NBA experience?
Memphis Grizzlies, $173.72Washington Wizards, $186.08Indiana Pacers, $187.52Charlotte Bobcats, $199.34New Orleans Hornets $209.04
Again, no surprise that these teams are perennial bottom-dwellers.
Of course, you might be able to score cheaper tickets when teams hold special promotions, or by buying into a season ticket package. A better bet might be the secondary market where sites like StubHub offer resale tickets, usually at reduced prices.
On the other hand, you might want to check out the action closer to home at your local high school or college game, where the play is often more impassioned and interesting. The pros, who play 82 games in a normal year (this year, because of the lockout, they’ll play 66) are all too often fatigued and don’t really work up a sweat until the fourth quarter. And attending a local game will set you back a fraction of the $500 you’d pay for a major market pro game. It’s a slam dunk that your family can have a ball with the money left over.
Via: Forbes
