http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/90477.html
Marcos Bretón: 'Sellout' is in the eye of the beholder
By Marcos Bretón - Bee Columnist
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 10, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
Could the Kings' NBA-leading streak of 323 consecutive sellouts at Arco Arena be in jeopardy tonight against the woeful Atlanta Hawks?
Even when the Kings were fun to watch with Vlade, Bobby and C-Webb, the faceless Hawks were one of the softest tickets at Arco.
Now with the Kings sinking to last place in the Pacific Division amid a five-game losing streak, the signs are there for the sellout streak to end.
A Sunday night game, a cold night, the Christmas season, a ton of games ahead, a dud opponent and one of the longest Kings losing streaks in nearly a decade.
Then again, it wouldn't be a surprise if tonight's game was called a sellout because the definition of sellout seems to be very loose at Arco Arena these days.
Anyone attending Kings games lately has noticed the many empty seats in the lower and upper levels of Sactown's old barn.
Yet the sellout streak has marched onward in defiance of simple mathematics.
"I would say (ticket sales) have dwindled to less and less," said Lakota Verberne, sales manager for All Events Tickets, a Roseville-based ticket broker.
On the Kings' Web site, less than three hours before Thursday's tipoff against the defending NBA champion Miami Heat, there were multiple tickets available at every price level in the lower bowl of Arco Arena.
Among them were four seats behind the Kings' bench in the third aisle of Kings Row -- section 104. At face value, they cost $360 each -- and with service fees included -- could be had for $1,512.
I watched them sit empty all game and, at the start of the fourth quarter, I asked a woman sitting behind the seats if anyone had used them.
No.
At halftime, I also checked at the Kings' box office inside the arena to see if there were still tickets available.
The gentleman behind the glass scanned his computer and said there were "very few" but that there were single seats still available.
The question is: How do single seats available at halftime -- combined with empty seats in Kings Row and throughout the arena -- translate into a sellout?
Mark Broussard, director of basketball operations for the NBA, said the league determines sellouts based on the announced crowds and the number of complimentary tickets the teams hand out that get used.
Teams are on an honor system -- the league takes the team's word for it on announced sellouts. But Broussard said the NBA does verify gate receipts and all basketball-related income to make sure they add up.
It's not life and death, but the announced sellouts do make you roll your eyes.
Clearly, it looks good for the Kings to have a sellout streak of more than 300 games, though they are far shy of the all-time record identified by Broussard at 814 -- set by the Portland Trail Blazers between April 1977 and November 1995.
As it is, the Kings' current streak is even far shy of the team record of 497 -- set in Sacramento between 1985 and 1997, Broussard said.
Regarding the Miami game, the Kings would only release a brief statement blaming empty seats on "no shows" that all teams must deal with.
Questions on specifics went unanswered.
Truthfully, it's a touchy issue for all teams, and the Kings are hardly the only franchise to announce sellouts when there are plenty of unoccupied seats.
There is no darker meaning here; there are no suggestions of sellout fraud. It's just that the Kings are facing softening ticket sales during a tough economy as the the team struggles.
"They're boring," said Bill Knoblauch, a 61-year-old Kings season-ticket holder since 1985. Sitting in the last row of Section 210 with his stepson -- in seats that cost $10 each and were surrounded by empty seats Thursday -- Knoblauch rejected any suggestions that the recent failed arena campaign or ill feelings about the Kings' owners were turning fans away from Arco Arena.
"It's not the arena, it's the way the team is playing right now," said Knoblauch, a retired farm appraiser from Lincoln.
"Compared to four years ago, my interest is way down. Now, it's like it was before the Kings hired (former coach Rick) Adelman (in the 1998-99 season that began the eight-year Kings playoff run)."
"It's mediocre."
About the writer: Reach Marcos Bretón at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com
Marcos Bretón: 'Sellout' is in the eye of the beholder
By Marcos Bretón - Bee Columnist
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 10, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
Could the Kings' NBA-leading streak of 323 consecutive sellouts at Arco Arena be in jeopardy tonight against the woeful Atlanta Hawks?
Even when the Kings were fun to watch with Vlade, Bobby and C-Webb, the faceless Hawks were one of the softest tickets at Arco.
Now with the Kings sinking to last place in the Pacific Division amid a five-game losing streak, the signs are there for the sellout streak to end.
A Sunday night game, a cold night, the Christmas season, a ton of games ahead, a dud opponent and one of the longest Kings losing streaks in nearly a decade.
Then again, it wouldn't be a surprise if tonight's game was called a sellout because the definition of sellout seems to be very loose at Arco Arena these days.
Anyone attending Kings games lately has noticed the many empty seats in the lower and upper levels of Sactown's old barn.
Yet the sellout streak has marched onward in defiance of simple mathematics.
"I would say (ticket sales) have dwindled to less and less," said Lakota Verberne, sales manager for All Events Tickets, a Roseville-based ticket broker.
On the Kings' Web site, less than three hours before Thursday's tipoff against the defending NBA champion Miami Heat, there were multiple tickets available at every price level in the lower bowl of Arco Arena.
Among them were four seats behind the Kings' bench in the third aisle of Kings Row -- section 104. At face value, they cost $360 each -- and with service fees included -- could be had for $1,512.
I watched them sit empty all game and, at the start of the fourth quarter, I asked a woman sitting behind the seats if anyone had used them.
No.
At halftime, I also checked at the Kings' box office inside the arena to see if there were still tickets available.
The gentleman behind the glass scanned his computer and said there were "very few" but that there were single seats still available.
The question is: How do single seats available at halftime -- combined with empty seats in Kings Row and throughout the arena -- translate into a sellout?
Mark Broussard, director of basketball operations for the NBA, said the league determines sellouts based on the announced crowds and the number of complimentary tickets the teams hand out that get used.
Teams are on an honor system -- the league takes the team's word for it on announced sellouts. But Broussard said the NBA does verify gate receipts and all basketball-related income to make sure they add up.
It's not life and death, but the announced sellouts do make you roll your eyes.
Clearly, it looks good for the Kings to have a sellout streak of more than 300 games, though they are far shy of the all-time record identified by Broussard at 814 -- set by the Portland Trail Blazers between April 1977 and November 1995.
As it is, the Kings' current streak is even far shy of the team record of 497 -- set in Sacramento between 1985 and 1997, Broussard said.
Regarding the Miami game, the Kings would only release a brief statement blaming empty seats on "no shows" that all teams must deal with.
Questions on specifics went unanswered.
Truthfully, it's a touchy issue for all teams, and the Kings are hardly the only franchise to announce sellouts when there are plenty of unoccupied seats.
There is no darker meaning here; there are no suggestions of sellout fraud. It's just that the Kings are facing softening ticket sales during a tough economy as the the team struggles.
"They're boring," said Bill Knoblauch, a 61-year-old Kings season-ticket holder since 1985. Sitting in the last row of Section 210 with his stepson -- in seats that cost $10 each and were surrounded by empty seats Thursday -- Knoblauch rejected any suggestions that the recent failed arena campaign or ill feelings about the Kings' owners were turning fans away from Arco Arena.
"It's not the arena, it's the way the team is playing right now," said Knoblauch, a retired farm appraiser from Lincoln.
"Compared to four years ago, my interest is way down. Now, it's like it was before the Kings hired (former coach Rick) Adelman (in the 1998-99 season that began the eight-year Kings playoff run)."
"It's mediocre."
About the writer: Reach Marcos Bretón at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com
