I’ve been watching more than my fair share of Bucks basketball this year.
The team has been playing very very well in the last couple months and they’re moving up in the standings and it’s looking like Milwaukee might be represented again in the NBA playoffs for the first time in six or seven years.
It’s not all good news however for the Bucks, as ann article on jsonline.com today points out. Ticket sales are down despite the Bucks playing some of the best basketball in the NBA. From the article:
Still, despite an announced attendance of 14,316 for Tuesday night’s victory over the Celtics, there were plenty of empty seats in the upper bowl. That comes despite a ticket promotion the Bucks made for the game, selling $61 seats for $30, and $29 upper-level seats for $14.
Now I’m sure I’m not the only one to realize this, but outside the occasional ticket promotion, NBA games are prohibitively expensive for an average family to attend! Second, it’s a school night so of course you’re not going to be selling out the house!
When I took Carter to his first Bucks game back in January, I commented on how expensive tickets were. I ended up paying $60 per ticket for the two seats we got in the first row of the upper deck. It was a special treat partially because it would be tough to cough up $120 just for tickets more than a few times a year, no matter how well the team is doing.
When the whole family went to a game about a month ago, we sat about seven rows from the top. The price per ticket was about $18 for a total of just under $80 to go to a basketball game that we could barely see.
My point is for all the Bucks executives out there, it takes more than the occasional ticket promotion to get people in the door. You may think $14 for a seat where you need oxygen tanks is a good deal, but for anyone bringing a family along, it’s just not. Doubly so for the lower deck, where a family of four can expect to shell out over $300 for a single game!
Get with it and stop feigning surprise when you’re surprised that the market segment you’re pricing out of your games fails to show up even when the team is doing well.
(All that said, I do enjoy watching Bucks games and am excited they’re making a run for the playoffs. Unfortunately, like most people, I have to enjoy watching on FS Wisconsin from my living room.)
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and son Carter.
We should get the state legislature to do something about this.
Obviously, it is in the best interest of the “little guy” to regulate this industry. A little government intervention is all we need here.
Yeah Boy, I’m sure you typed that in thinking it would be funny and “ha ha ironic!”. It comes off just the opposite. It’s no wonder that with that kind of attitude your side is winning over the masses on how to get things done.
As to the point, the Bucks do have specials on tickets, but you rarely hear about them in time to purchase. It doesn’t do me any good to hear about a ticket special the day of the game…
@James – I don’t understand. What would be funny and/or ironic?
I don’t go to Buck games but I have season tickets for Marquette basketball. The tickets are expensive while parking and refreshments cost more than the tickets.
..then there’s the Brewers. You’re a fan Dan, so you know how much you pay for tickets, parking and refreshments at Miller Park. I think major league baseball is as expensive as professional basketball, yet Brewer attendance has soared the past few years. I think cost is an issue but the Bucks have been so bad for so long that many people simply lost interest.