One thing to note is that we were knocked out of the playoffs with 6 games remaining. If we're in the playoff race with 6 games remaining this year, we'll probably sell out around 3 of those because they're very meaningful games. Especially the game against Denver, who we'll probably be competing against for seeding, will probably get lots of attention in Houston. So with that assumption, that's 2 or 3 more sell outs. Considering the fact that we sold out 10 TOTAL last year, 2 or 3 is like a 20 or 30% bump. Attendance will improve once next year again I'm sure. Word will get around that we're for real, Yao will begin competing for best C in the league honors, and people will have already "tried" the new Toyota center and adjusted to parking/food "problems".
Thanks for the complement, but I don't think the numbers are misleading at all. Number 1 picks are by no means a guarantee of any attendance increase in the NBA. Kwame Brown and Michael Olowokandi didn't raise attendance. Elton Brand didn't. If you go back historically, very few draft picks, even #1s, do. Yao did for us because, as you said, he's an intriguing player. But ... if you listened to talk radio and this board, there was a lot of debate before he got here on whether he would ever be an impact player or whether he would just be the next Sean Bradley. (Majority opinion tended towards the "next Sean Bradley" POV.) Cleveland has seen huge growth this year because they got a hometown player who was being hyped as the next Jordan. It's a different situation. And we have more paid customers than Denver, for what it's worth, although they've had great success this year and I think they do a great job, too. And yes, I've looked at every new arena launch in the last 20 years. Our increases compare pretty favorably against most launches. And besides, saying the attendance increases don't count because they're due to the new arena is like saying that a team's improved record doesn't count because they have better players. Entertainment options for people are getting better all the time. We thought a new arena was necessary to compete. We've also done a bunch of other things, like add more premiums, add mini-packs (we average 1800 fans a night via mini-packs now, a product we didn't even offer 2 years ago) add group discount incentives, add $69 Family Pack nights, and add some fairly aggressive marketing and advertising support. Yao, the arena, and the play on the court have a lot to do with the improvements, but theres a lot of marketing and sales initiatives active as well. (Our sales team has been fantastic, by the way.) #2 of 29 teams last year in attendance growth last year, #3 this year. From 3 sellouts to 10 to 17 or more. Those numbers are pretty hard to spin. They should speak for themselves. Tim
Tim -- I just wanted to echo the sentiments of others and say you are doing a great job. Especially my season ticket rep, Stanley Lee. He deserves a raise or a promotion or something. Also, thanks for changing the player introduction "show". The big bang thing was getting a little annoying. I don't LOVE the new one (countdown), but I like it a lot more than the old one. I think this year's halftime events, timeout stuff, etc. has been really pretty good. What really bothers me the most is that not enough people come to the game. I have no doubt that you sell out those expensive seats, but there is never anyone there -- the luxury boxes are almost always empty, and there are whole groups of 8, 10 seats in the lower bowl that are unoccupied. Even yesterday, it probably was only 75% full, and that was the most full it's been in months. But the upper deck is pretty spirited. Perhaps you all could do more things with us cheaper ticket owners upstairs? Dunno what, but maybe some more timeout activities, just to get it really rockin'
I think you should co-mrket more with the downtown scene. Contact DEDA and some of the owners like Cabo, Market Square B&G, St. Pete's, Flying Saucer etc. and have some sort of news and pics about the event of coming downtown, not JUSt for a game. If that qualifies for your contest, enter me! Email me if I can help, I've lived down here for 3 years and know most of the owners....
I know there is nothing that Tim and Co can do about this, but I wish those corporate bigwigs that own alot of those expensive seats in the lower bowl would allow their employees to use the tickets if they arent going to..... it is a waste and if they allowed regular guys to use them when they arent...maybe we could get some noise going downlow. My better half is talking to some friends with tickets down there about letting us use the tickets they dont.....that would be sweet! That is the problem that alot of you dont realize, corporate types buy those tickets in the lower bowl and then dont bother to come....so even tho the seats are empty, they have been sold. It's amazing thst a game can be soldout, yet when you see it on TV...it looks very empty down there.
Maybe someone *Clutch the Bear* could go up to the upperbowl and randomly choose a couple of fans so they could go to the lowerlevel?
notes i heard from the 610 radio guys being interviewed on local sports tv..... they said that for a sellout crowd and the rockets having a blow out victory against one of the hottest teams in the nba that THE CROWD WAS PRACTICALLY DEAD!!!!! WHAT THE HELL?!!? to quote from perry farrell and porno for pyro's cursed male All the guys That really have the money Are too old To have a good time with it all those great gatsby aristocrats should be forced to give up their seats and trade with the upper stratosphere seats every time they are caught not making enough noise. theyre should be the fan police to make sure that fans are actually yelling out "GO ROCKETS!!" not "BUY BUY SELL BUY SELL SELL BUY BUY!" LET THE PROLETARIAT BACK INTO THE LOWER BOWL!!!!
I really, really hate to dis Tim, but his comments in this thread are evidence of the Rockets not looking out for the little guy. What's important to Tim is that the big ticket seats downstairs are all sold - whether or not anyone shows up for those seats is not a concern. Whether or not the seats in the upper deck and behind the goals are worth the prices charged for them is not a concern. Please Tim, if the upper deck and goal seats are such a good value and everything downstairs is sold, why are the Rockets 3rd from the bottom in attendance? You say that you're waiting for attendance to build, but shouldn't a new building and two All-Star starters be enough to lure fans in? Tim, I've sat once in the nose-bleed this season and once in the high-dollar area. And I can tell you that people with $130 tickets are treated like royalty and anyone who can't pay more $100 a ticket is treated like cattle. People aren't stupid. They can see that the new upper deck is jacked up over double rows of luxury boxes. They can see the special club service that rich folks have. They see that rich people don't even show up to sit in seats that they would die for, yet still they aren't allowed to move over or down. This why the Rockets are in the attendance basement. The organization doesn't respect the majority of consumers in this market. We want to show up to support the team, but you make it so expensive and boarderline degrading.
I am unable to argue against any of your other points since to date, I havent been able to make it to a game but... Doesnt it seem to you that as the VP or Marketing, maybe it is his job to find ways to make sure the tickets are being sold? the other things you listed may or may not be valid points....but unless I misunderstand the job title he holds...it isnt his job to fix all that. Please feel free to correct me, I know very little about marketing so it is entirely possible Im dead wrong. Unfortunately, there are always more perks in buying high dollar items...that is part of the reaosn why they are so expensive..no? I dont need to be treated as royalty if I buy the cheap seasts...I just want a place to watch and scream and have a good time with other fans. Make sure it is clean, and the employees deal with me fairly if there is a problem..and Im a happy guy.
Sure I think that people buying the expensive tickets that really drive our revenues is important. I'd be an idiot not to. But who said we're not concerned about no shows and not concerned about selling out the upper bowl? The big initiatives we've had from a business side -- mini-packs, group discounts, $69 Family Packs, giveaways/premiums -- are geared to do just that. Tim
Since you mentioned it, was a big topic for me at the league sales and marketing meetings last week. Quite frankly, it's something almost every team tries to address on some level. When tickets don't get used, you have to be concerned that you may be losing a customer. Our case is a little different, since it's not just unused tickets (I'd like our no show rates to be lower, but they're aren't bad at all by league standards) that are the issue, but people who enjoy the spending time in the club amenities we've added and spend more time away from their seat than they usually would. On the flip side, though, we built the clubs because it's something those types of season ticket holders (yes, more corporate purchases, frequently used for business entertaining) really asked for, and on one level we're really happy their using the amenity and finding value in it. Our sense is that the issue will partially take care of itself once club holders feel they've explored the club enough -- right now it's new, and many want to spend extra time there. The rest will tend to self-correct as the playoff drive becomes more compelling and the games become more critical. When people complain about empty seats, 90% of the time it's about the club (and those seats are sold), and the rest of the time it's about the end zone seats on low attendance games (seats that aren't sold). We're spending a lot of time working on the end zone issue as well. Many nights we'll have many more people in the building than we did last year -- but it won't seem as full because the empty seats are in the lower bowl and much more visible. It's one of the side effects of having the largest lower bowl in the league -- our typical sight line is better than almost anybody in the league and when the lower bowl is packed it makes for a great atmosphere, but when you don't sell out the building, the missing seats are much more obvious. The long term solution? Sell the place out every night. We're working on it. Tim
If the expensive seats sell out every game, why is nobody ever sitting there? (I already know the answer...I just like asking stupid questions. )
I'd take a hard punch to the face to sit where all those people dont show up to sit night in and night out. seriously, tim. here is your solution for all you marketing wizard types. have a toll free number where all these rich people who bought season tickets and KNEW they would only go to like 1 game and then half-ass there way to giving the rest of their tickets out...call the number. they tell when and where needy die hard REAL fans can go to pick up their tickets that they dont give a flying flick about. have the die hard fans call a first come first serve other number. rich no-showers call 1 800 LUX DORX needy die hard fans call 1 800 ROX FANS problem solved ....ROX and Stevie actually have an audience attending AND that actually make noise...which motivates their game to a knew level and we go all the way. then the LUX DORX will fly back into Houston from the Hamptons and have a reason to pop open the 3,000 dollar bottles of champagne.
On the one hand: Atlanta, New Jersey, Memphis, Orlando, Seattle, Miami, and New Orleans are below the Rockets in attendance. The Rockets are climbing back from the long rebuilding process. I've been going to games every year since 93, and can personally say they're making it a much more enjoyable atmosphere (minus those damn 65 point games) than it was 5 years ago. I'm also a huge fan of the mini-plans, especially the price discount and no fees. That's massive. Something Tim didn't mention: the jump to 17-20 sellouts this year is all the more impressive since they have to sell over 5 thousand more seats to get there each time. Also, averaging 80% for attendance isn't bad at all. On the other hand: I agree completely about the dichotomy. I'm at the top of the lower bowl (sec 102), and it's frustrating in terms of the crowd. Lower bowl end zone is decent in terms of volume, but it's plain as day that the high-priced sidelines aren't going to so much as golf-clap. It's perfectly understandable that the upper deck doesn't get excited often when they're so far removed from the action. They did one of those "lower deck, make some noise! Okay, upper deck, let's hear YOU guys make some noise!" The difference was so staggering it was pitiful, if not surprising in the slightest. Evan
One question I have - Tim or anyone else with an idea can answer: Why are the most expensive seats on the floor and in the lower bowl? Why are these seats the ones most coveted by the corporate types? Wouldn't they prefer something in the middle where they get served and chill in a clubhouse? Don't football games work that way? The clubs are in the middle or above and occupied by all the rich types, while the sideline seats are accessible for fans (we had seats last year on the 40 for $75 each). Isn't that how it used to work in the Roman days? Proles on the floor, the rich in their sky seats? What changed?
I think the most obvious answer would be that it becomes a status thing... by taking a coveted customer to a game and springing for the expensive seats, you are telling them that they are important to you. For obvious reasons, the closer you are to the action, you get low enough to see everything right in front of your face instead of wondering who that guy in the uniform is cause you are too high to see the name. I know one thng for sure...when I do scam the good seats from corporate friends...I cant desribe the feeling of being less than 20 feet away from my favorite team's bench and getting to see and sometimes hear what they are saying. Much less the ability to see everything that happens on the court without the aid of binoculars or the jumbotron. the only thing I miss is getting to sit with the maniacs in the upper sections....those guys know how to enjoy a game.
