I don't know how this might work but its an idea. But of course it would be a very slow progress. What if the rockets slowly started implementing a club attitude. not a dance club, but an athletic club such as how european or south american teams do. For example, they could start off by making a gym. People could pay a membership and go there to workout, play hoops, swim, fitness classes, etc. People who got memberships, could then purchase tickets for 50% off, but were not allowed to resale the tickets. They could have a decent amount of people interested with all the businessmen after work. It would make people feel that they have a closer relationship with the team and help spark some more passion for the team and these would be the people you would want in attendance. Only thing I can see that would hurt this idea is the lack of residential areas close to that side of downtown. But east downtown is starting to resurge a bit with a lot of townhomes and apartments so that could change. I know a lot of teams in Argentina do this. While it is soccer instead, this helps there be a larger attendance at games and helps people feel closer to the game.
Now We are comparing Houston/Les/Rockets to Golden State/Guber/ Warriors... Awesome. Because they have it better up there. I do agree though that San Fran has some pretty good basketball fans though. They just love basketball up there. Cant explain why. I cant say Ive ever been to a Warriors game to confirm what your saying here, but I will say that those prices are abnormal in comparison to a normal professional sports team. I just dont think a 35 dollar seat special has anything to do with that. Ive caught some similar deals from time to time at the TC. However, thats not the normal price of an NBA game. The Rockets are at about average/slightly above average of overall NBA experience. Put Hakeem back on the floor and its in the top 5. More than anything this franchise just needs a stud. Everything else will work itself out. Except for the fairweather fans... but ALMOST every city has those anyways.
