Change needed to make experience worth it for Suns fans
Jan 23, 2013, 4:47 PM | Updated: 6:01 pm
The Phoenix Suns and their upper management are currently the most highly scrutinized of any team/management combination in professional sports.
The moves that are being executed by the team seem erratic and most certainly lack any resemblance of a legitimate direction.
However, despite all of the harsh media scrutiny, the most appalling aspect of team has flown largely under the radar.
I’m talking about the ticket prices.
Before getting in to the prices, it is mandatory to define what a fan should expect when purchasing a ticket for any NBA basketball game.
In my own words…
A fan purchasing an NBA ticket should expect to receive an equal value from his game day experience as he paid for his ticket. This “value” is derived from entertainment of the game and in-arena promotions, the product on the court, the friendliness of the stadium staff, the accessibility of the stadium from entry into the parking lot until exit, fair concession prices, a memorable experience and view of the court that equates to the price of the ticket purchased.
That about covers it.
Now I must pose the question, as a Suns fan, are you getting “equal value” for the money you are shelling out for your tickets?
I think not.
On most nights for the remainder of the season, an average (middle to upper row) seat in the upper deck is at least $25, sometimes reaching as high as $67 and even $125.
In the lower bowl you aren’t getting any ticket for less than $50, and most are over $100 every night.
The fan certainly is not getting equal value for the cost of the ticket, which means that it just isn’t worth it to go to a Suns game.
Phoenix’s management needs to take a page out of Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall’s book and lower ticket prices to get people in the seats and give them an equal value for the cost of their ticket.
Be creative — drop the ticket prices. Drop the cost of concessions.
Until the Suns reform the direction of the franchise and the product on the court, I would rather take my money to Lucky Strike bowling in CityScape than to the US Airways Center box office.
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