Nearly every NBA team offered discounts and value promotions last season to help preserve attendance, and with the economy in full retreat, the challenges are expected to intensify next season. With that truth in mind, CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders why many NBA teams weren’t ready to offer discount ticket packages yesterday:
Some teams had absolutely nothing to offer beyond season tickets.
Most offered few specific deals that would make a fan want to get back into the arena.
Kudos especially go to the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks, who ranked 20th and 24th in league attendance last year, for having immediate offers available to their fans within hours of the schedule coming out.
The Hawks are offering a 13-game plan, which includes 12 of last year’s playoff teams, plus the season opener for as low as $260 a seat. Not only that, each seat also comes with a $50 credit towards future purchases.
The Bucks, whose entire schedule of games and offers was up within an hour of when the schedule came out, are offering a Click ‘N Pick plan that enables fans to buy six- and ten-game packages featuring any combination of seats. For example, if a fan wants to sit close for the game against Cleveland and is fine with sitting up in the rafters for the Lakers game, he or she can mix and match and create their own a-la-carte plan. The six-game package comes with one free game and the 10-game package comes with two free games.
