NBA team owners "have adopted a revolutionary plan"
that Commissioner David Stern says "will provide incentives
to boost ticket sales but could financially penalize teams
that miss new attendance targets," according to Liz Mullen
of the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The rule, which will "become
effective" for the 2001-02 season, "potentially means the
loss of more than" $1M to teams that "don't maintain" an
average paid attendance of 11,000 and average season-ticket
sales of 7,000. Stern: "There are going to be certain
incentives to make sure over time that all of our teams do a
good job selling tickets. There are performance incentives
to make sure that buildings are full." Mullen adds that
though the NBA "won't reveal how many teams would be
affected" by the rule, it is "part of a larger plan
involving how the league will divvy up revenue it may
receive from players and owners" beginning in 2001-02.
Under the CBA, up to 10% of player salaries "will be placed
in escrow and the league will get that money" if salaries
exceed 55% of BRI. Also, teams that spend more than 61.1%
of revenue on player salaries may "be forced to reimburse
the league." Stern said that "on the recommendation" of the
NBA Planning Committee, owners "voted to divide the money
equally among the teams with good ticket sales." Stern: "It
will be even except for the teams that aren't selling up to
standards" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/17 issue).
SHAQ ATTACK: NEWSWEEK's Samuels & Starr write that
Lakers C Shaquille O'Neal feels that the NBA "doesn't know
how to market the really big guys, guys like him with size
22-feet." O'Neal: "Nobody knows how to treat a big man,
particularly one who can break-dance." O'Neal also "resents
that the league has always looked for its 'next Michael'
[Jordan] in smaller, 'pretty boys' like [Pistons F] Grant
Hill." O'Neal said, "You don't hardly hear about Grant Hill
anymore." O'Neal "no longer has contracts" with either of
his two original sponsors, Pepsi and Reebok, and he has
"soured on 'the whole marketing thing' and insists he
doesn't want new endorsement deals, even if there's renewed
interest after his stellar season" (NEWSWEEK, 4/24 issue).
AIR APPARENT? In Houston, Michael Murphy wrote that the
NBA "wants -- dare we say needs? -- a chosen one, someone
who has game on the court and on Madison Avenue. Someone
who can take both your breath and your dollars away with
equal ease." Murphy: "Television ratings rival those of
local access channels. The league has more empty seats than
a Kathie Lee Gifford concert tour. And there is an ever-
widening cultural gap between today's players and the
audience for whom they play" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/15). In
N.Y., Mitch Lawrence handed out his regular-season awards
and wrote that the "best new idea" by the NBA is "getting
[Raptors F Vince] Carter to a major U.S. market in the next
few seasons." Meanwhile, the "worst new idea" by the NBA is
"starting a developmental league" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/16).
