Scratch NBA sellouts in Sacramento and Charlotte from the old line about death and taxes.
The Kings and Hornets can no longer count on packing their arenas every game. Each franchise has seen lengthy sellout streaks come to an end in the first month of the 1997-98 season.For the Kings, Nov. 7 marked the end of an unusual era in fan loyalty. Despite housing a team that has made the NBA playoffs just two times since relocating to Sacramento from Kansas City in 1985, tickets were nonexistent.
The Kings sold out every game - 497, to be exact - since moving to California. The league's longest streak, however, came to an end when only 15,858 folks filed into 17,317-seat Arco Arena for a game with the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams were winless at the time - a combined 0-7.
"I don't feel disappointed in the fans. They've supported this team since it's been here. They want a winner. They want to see great basketball," Kings all-star guard Mitch Richmond told the Sacramento Bee. "There comes a time they feel they're being cheated . . . If they want to spend their money elsewhere, that's their prerogative."
If wins and losses are the reason folks are beginning to stay away in Sacramento, then Charlotte's situation is perplexing. The Hornets, who were off to the best start in franchise history, welcomed 22,617 to their 24,042-seat hive on Nov. 24 against the Detroit Pistons. The empty seats snapped a run of 364 sellouts at Charlotte Coliseum.
"We still have hopes of leading the league in attendance for the ninth time and are still pleased about having (sold) a league-high 20,000 season tickets," said Hornets executive vice president Sam Russo.
His spin on the situation, however, is not shared by others. Especially when considering Sacramento's recent slip from attendance perfection as well.
"I think it's something the rest of us need to step up and take notice of," said Jay Francis, vice president of marketing for the Utah Jazz. "If there are things we can do, we need to take note."
Francis and his NBA marketing counterparts meet twice a year to discuss strategy, examine trends and look ahead. He expects the recently snapped streaks to force a leaguewide "self-evaluation" of how teams do business.
"I think it's probably a market-by-market situation. I think in each market fans are a little more loyal and a little more fickle than others," said Francis. "But looking at the NBA as a whole, I think we are all working a lot harder than we have in the past."
Fans, who are perhaps turned off by rising ticket prices and escalating player salaries, are getting few breaks these days. And no cost-cutting relief is in sight, despite the league's new four-year, $2.64 billion television deal. Francis said Utah's marketing concept is built upon the principle of making sure there is value to a ticket.
"When you're charging NBA rates," he said, "you better take care of people. No question about it."
Four years ago, after concerns arose from a severe drop in attendance at Los Angeles Lakers' games (from an average of 17,055 per game to 13,315 over just two seasons) following the end of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Magic Johnson era, NBA marketing directors refocused their efforts on customer service. The Jazz, for example, assigned their season-ticket holders to customer service representatives.
"It makes a lot of difference," said Francis. "We've been extremely fortunate."
Utah's attendance has remained steady thanks to an abundance of full-season and package ticket holders. The Jazz are among 14 teams currently experiencing a rise in attendance when compared with 1996-97. Through seven games, average paid attendance at the Delta Center is 19,890 - a 2.32 percent bump from last year's 19,440.
Though it's still quite early, with no team in the league having played more than eight or fewer than four games at home, trends are developing.
Four teams - the defending champion Chicago Bulls (owners of the league's longest active sellout streak at 465 games), New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Seattle Supersonics - have remained at capacity each night thus far, but 10 franchises are experiencing a drop in attendance.
As a whole, NBA attendance is up an average of 32 fans per game. That's a mere 0.19 percent.
"November and December are difficult," said Francis. "January is when
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
EARLY RETURNS
NBA attendance figures through Nov. 25. Two extended sell-out streaks --Sacramento (497) and Charlotte (364) -- have come to an end during the first
26 days of the 1997-98 regular season. As a whole, NBA attendance is up 0.19% from last season with the per game average rising from 16,963 to 16,995.
Team 41 home games 1996-97 average 1997-98 average Percent change
ATTENDANCE UP: 14 teams
Atlanta Hawks 10,587 18,813 77.70%
Boston Celtics 15,237 17,304 13.57%
Los Angeles Clippers 9,228 10,432 13.04%
Cleveland Cavaliers 14,824 16,252 9.63%
San Antonio Spurs 17,156 18,618 8.52%
Detroit Pistons 17,884 19,378 8.35%
Washington Wizards 17,433 18,637 6.91%
Minnesota Timberwolves 15,869 16,775 5.71%
UTAH JAZZ 19,440 19,890 2.32%
Los Angeles Lakers 16,474 16,751 1.69%
Milwaukee Bucks 14,827 15,026 1.34%
Portland Trail Blazers 20,496 20,639 0.70%
Chicago Bulls 23,843 23,902 0.25%
Vancouver Grizzlies 15,925 15,931 0.04%
ATTENDANCE EVEN: 4 teams
Houston Rockets 16,285 16,285 0.00%
New York Knickerbockers 19,763 19,763 0.00%
Phoenix Suns 19,023 19,023 0.00%
Seattle Supersonics 17,072 17,072 0.00%
ATTENDANCE DOWN: 11 teams
Orlando Magic 20,745 16,774 -19.14%
Toronto Raptors 20,404 16,711 -18.10%
Dallas Mavericks 15,341 12,700 -17.21%
Golden State Warriors 15,026 12,496 -16.84%
Sacramento Kings 17,317 15,389 -11.13%
Philadelphia 76ers 15,684 14,166 -9.67%
New Jersey Nets 18,144 16,442 -9.38%
Denver Nuggets 12,170 11,038 -9.30%
Miami Heat 15,010 14,703 -2.04%
Charlotte Hornets 24,042 23,838 -0.85%
Indiana Pacers 15,021 14,990 -0.21%
Source: NBA