http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/152224.html
No longer a slam dunk: Kings' season ticket holders mull price of defeat
By Melody Gutierrez - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 1:23 am PDT Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
Kings fans have been grousing about the team's win-loss record, the failed arena talks, the difficulty reselling tickets and the lack of excitement at Arco Arena.
Now ticket brokers are predicting the team's front office will see an unprecedented number of season ticket holders pass on renewal.
Before the worst could happen, the front office swung into action: Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof made a push to retain as many current holders as they could before the April 2 deadline for renewal. They feted this elite group -- who provide the largest source of revenue for the Kings -- in the team's practice facility and made a candid pitch.
Sure, this year's up-and-down season had been "mostly down," Gavin Maloof acknowledged to one group of 400. But "we will get back to where we need to be. So, stay with us."
Did the pitch work? It's impossible to know for certain since Maloof Sports and Entertainment, like all NBA organizations, closely guards information on renewals, but the message boards, ticket brokers and Bee interviews with season ticket holders don't add up to an easy off-season for the Kings' sales team.
Yet the alarms aren't sounding at Arco Arena, where Kings President John Thomas said he could tap a waiting list with an "appreciable number of folks" on it.
"No one is satisfied or pleased with the current results of the team, and everyone is focused on getting back. Every team goes through this, and it's our time."
The Kings' sales push couldn't come at a worse time. The downturn in California's housing market coupled with a predicted downshift in job growth this year could find Sacramento fans being more judicious about spending.
"I can guarantee that Arco Arena will have a lot of (season) tickets on their hands," said Lakota Verberne, sales manager at All Events Tickets in Roseville.
Kings management opted to keep the price tag the same for the second consecutive year, with season tickets ranked ninth in price among the league's 30 teams, averaging $85.56 per ticket for all 41 home games, to the tune of $3,507.96 a season. That does not include parking, which is $10 a game.
Single-game ticket prices remain among the most expensive in the league. The average price of $59.80 is the third highest among NBA teams.
Although Tom Wimberly has held season tickets for eight seasons, he's decided to bail out.
"As long as I can give them to clients and they have a good time, it's worth it," said Wimberly, who spent $33,000 on two tickets in the lower bowl and parking. "If the product seems to depreciate, then the clients don't appreciate (the gift)."
Other fans such as Gwyn Bicker are willing to pony up the money, believing that it can't get much worse. A second-year season ticket holder, she expects major offseason changes.
"I'd hate to walk away, and the excitement returns," said the Loomis resident. "We used to plan our lives around the Kings."
Bicker said her family spends $17,000 a year for their four season tickets on the lower level. She said her family wasn't as motivated to go to games this season because the team had no identity and the fans lacked energy. She strongly considered not renewing when she had difficulty reselling her tickets.
As Davis stockbroker Jim Belenis thinks of all the reasons he could cite for giving up his season tickets -- the pair he's owned in the lower bowl since the team came to town in 1985 -- he points to one.
"It's the lack of intensity," he said. "If you are playing good, hard basketball, then it's fun to watch. You don't always win, but when you play bad basketball and it doesn't look like you want to win, that's hard to stomach."
Belenis spent $12,800 this season, using the premium seats as an incentive to clients. He said he predicts many fans will follow him out of the arena.
"It was a perk (for clients)," Belenis said. "The seats were so good, but I couldn't give them away (this season). It was amazing. Three or four years ago, you'd make one phone call, and they (were gone)."
Sacramento political consultant Brandon Castillo said he sometimes feels like he's paying $300 a game to get kicked in the stomach, but he plans to renew his two lower-level tickets at least another season. He split the $10,780 with his brother, who decided he would not renew.
"I'm a die-hard fan," said Cas- tillo, who has watched the season ticket holders around him change in the past four years.
"If next year's team resembles this year's team, I'm not renewing," Castillo said. "It's obvious they have already lost a lot of season ticket holders."
Since season ticket revenue is the bread and butter for every NBA franchise, teams strive to avoid erosion in this fan base, sports business experts say.
"The season ticket holder is the most important person in all of sports, more so than sponsors," said Robert Tuchman, a sports marketing expert from New York-based TSE Sports and Entertainment. "Those are the people who support a team year in and year out. It's where (organizations) count on their revenue for years to come."
Kings fans are widely perceived as extremely committed, but even their loyalty appears to have been challenged by this season's set of unusual problems:
• For the first time in years, the team's playoff chances are in doubt as they pursue a long-shot attempt at the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference. A Kings loss tonight against Memphis would close the door on playoff hopes.
• Kings coach Eric Musselman was arrested for driving under the influence.
• The Maloofs emerged from a campaign for a new arena with a black eye, and fans are questioning their desire to keep the Kings in Sacramento. That was evident from the number of questions in this vein at a March 30 fan forum.
Gavin Maloof said it would be foolish to move the team, especially given the Kings' success with 350 consecutive sellouts.
"Some people have questioned our passion," he said. "That hasn't changed. We don't want to be No. 3 or No. 2, we want to be No. 1. We aren't afraid to spend the money."
If fans are, it will mean a full-court press for the team's sales team in the off season.
About the writer: The Bee's Melody Gutierrez can be reached at (916) 326-5521 or mgutierrez@sacbee.com.
No longer a slam dunk: Kings' season ticket holders mull price of defeat
By Melody Gutierrez - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 1:23 am PDT Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
Kings fans have been grousing about the team's win-loss record, the failed arena talks, the difficulty reselling tickets and the lack of excitement at Arco Arena.
Now ticket brokers are predicting the team's front office will see an unprecedented number of season ticket holders pass on renewal.
Before the worst could happen, the front office swung into action: Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof made a push to retain as many current holders as they could before the April 2 deadline for renewal. They feted this elite group -- who provide the largest source of revenue for the Kings -- in the team's practice facility and made a candid pitch.
Sure, this year's up-and-down season had been "mostly down," Gavin Maloof acknowledged to one group of 400. But "we will get back to where we need to be. So, stay with us."
Did the pitch work? It's impossible to know for certain since Maloof Sports and Entertainment, like all NBA organizations, closely guards information on renewals, but the message boards, ticket brokers and Bee interviews with season ticket holders don't add up to an easy off-season for the Kings' sales team.
Yet the alarms aren't sounding at Arco Arena, where Kings President John Thomas said he could tap a waiting list with an "appreciable number of folks" on it.
"No one is satisfied or pleased with the current results of the team, and everyone is focused on getting back. Every team goes through this, and it's our time."
The Kings' sales push couldn't come at a worse time. The downturn in California's housing market coupled with a predicted downshift in job growth this year could find Sacramento fans being more judicious about spending.
"I can guarantee that Arco Arena will have a lot of (season) tickets on their hands," said Lakota Verberne, sales manager at All Events Tickets in Roseville.
Kings management opted to keep the price tag the same for the second consecutive year, with season tickets ranked ninth in price among the league's 30 teams, averaging $85.56 per ticket for all 41 home games, to the tune of $3,507.96 a season. That does not include parking, which is $10 a game.
Single-game ticket prices remain among the most expensive in the league. The average price of $59.80 is the third highest among NBA teams.
Although Tom Wimberly has held season tickets for eight seasons, he's decided to bail out.
"As long as I can give them to clients and they have a good time, it's worth it," said Wimberly, who spent $33,000 on two tickets in the lower bowl and parking. "If the product seems to depreciate, then the clients don't appreciate (the gift)."
Other fans such as Gwyn Bicker are willing to pony up the money, believing that it can't get much worse. A second-year season ticket holder, she expects major offseason changes.
"I'd hate to walk away, and the excitement returns," said the Loomis resident. "We used to plan our lives around the Kings."
Bicker said her family spends $17,000 a year for their four season tickets on the lower level. She said her family wasn't as motivated to go to games this season because the team had no identity and the fans lacked energy. She strongly considered not renewing when she had difficulty reselling her tickets.
As Davis stockbroker Jim Belenis thinks of all the reasons he could cite for giving up his season tickets -- the pair he's owned in the lower bowl since the team came to town in 1985 -- he points to one.
"It's the lack of intensity," he said. "If you are playing good, hard basketball, then it's fun to watch. You don't always win, but when you play bad basketball and it doesn't look like you want to win, that's hard to stomach."
Belenis spent $12,800 this season, using the premium seats as an incentive to clients. He said he predicts many fans will follow him out of the arena.
"It was a perk (for clients)," Belenis said. "The seats were so good, but I couldn't give them away (this season). It was amazing. Three or four years ago, you'd make one phone call, and they (were gone)."
Sacramento political consultant Brandon Castillo said he sometimes feels like he's paying $300 a game to get kicked in the stomach, but he plans to renew his two lower-level tickets at least another season. He split the $10,780 with his brother, who decided he would not renew.
"I'm a die-hard fan," said Cas- tillo, who has watched the season ticket holders around him change in the past four years.
"If next year's team resembles this year's team, I'm not renewing," Castillo said. "It's obvious they have already lost a lot of season ticket holders."
Since season ticket revenue is the bread and butter for every NBA franchise, teams strive to avoid erosion in this fan base, sports business experts say.
"The season ticket holder is the most important person in all of sports, more so than sponsors," said Robert Tuchman, a sports marketing expert from New York-based TSE Sports and Entertainment. "Those are the people who support a team year in and year out. It's where (organizations) count on their revenue for years to come."
Kings fans are widely perceived as extremely committed, but even their loyalty appears to have been challenged by this season's set of unusual problems:
• For the first time in years, the team's playoff chances are in doubt as they pursue a long-shot attempt at the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference. A Kings loss tonight against Memphis would close the door on playoff hopes.
• Kings coach Eric Musselman was arrested for driving under the influence.
• The Maloofs emerged from a campaign for a new arena with a black eye, and fans are questioning their desire to keep the Kings in Sacramento. That was evident from the number of questions in this vein at a March 30 fan forum.
Gavin Maloof said it would be foolish to move the team, especially given the Kings' success with 350 consecutive sellouts.
"Some people have questioned our passion," he said. "That hasn't changed. We don't want to be No. 3 or No. 2, we want to be No. 1. We aren't afraid to spend the money."
If fans are, it will mean a full-court press for the team's sales team in the off season.
About the writer: The Bee's Melody Gutierrez can be reached at (916) 326-5521 or mgutierrez@sacbee.com.
