Nets promised 2,000 $15 tickets for Brooklyn. For the second season, they're $25.

Rabu, 13 Maret 2013

Nets promised 2,000 $15 tickets for Brooklyn. For the second season, they're $25.

July 5, 2012; Ticketmaster list

The promised 2,000 $15 tickets for every Nets game this year may not have been available, but at least $15 was the base price for the cheap seats in the Barclays Center.

As indicated in the graphic at right, some season tickets in the aqua, orange, and light blue sections were available for $15 a seat.

Now, as indicated in the graphic below, prices are rising to $25 per seat, a 66.7% leap, far above the average rise of 8%, as the Times reported casually: "The Nets are also raising season ticket prices next season, by 8 percent."

That 8% rise conceals the fact that, according to a spreadsheet (via NetsDaily) prepared by Nets fan Arpit Vaidya, some prices are steady, some will rise modestly, while some--generally lesser seats in more expensive sections--will actually dip.

Beyond the jump in price for the $15 seats, current $20 seats will leap 50% to $30.

Pre-opening hype

Remember, for years arena backers and builders promised at least 2,000 $15 seats "for" Brooklyn. In May 2004, Borough President Marty Markowitz, told the New York City Council, "It must be enjoyed by Brooklyn's working families."

March 12, 2013, Nets Ticket Central

“We have 2,000 seats priced at 15 dollars and under," Brett Yormark, the Nets/arena CEO, told RealGM 6/15/12. "It’s been our goal from day one to have affordable seating and pricing for anyone that wants to experience Brooklyn Nets basketball."

Before the season began, however, ticket reps suggested such tickets were sold out, apparently aiming to sell more expensive seats.

A good chunk of the limited number of $15 seats were sold as season tickets, so relatively few--about 300 in one case, 480 in another--were made available before games to the casual fan.

Not so many cheap seats

Nets spokesman Barry Baum ultimately said the announced 2,000 tickets include those already sold as season tickets and those offered through community groups, and that the number made available to casual fans changed game to game.

So, will there be any $15 seats next year? I queried Baum and Yormark via Twitter last night. Yormark's non-response: "if you are interested in buying some call me."

Surely the demand exceeds the supply, and Nets tickets are a bargain compared to Knicks tickets at Madison Square Garden.

Still, this hardly means, as the Times conclusorily declared last Sunday, that Nets Make Full Effort to Fit Into Brooklyn.

Recent $15 ticket sales

Recently, $15 tickets were announced on the Brooklyn Nets Facebook page--but not on Twitter (as has been done), as far as I can tell.

A relatively small number of fans both reported they got the tickets, or groused they couldn't get them.