Nets Hoping Hoops Hospitality Ignites Passion Among Fans

Several teams, including the Nets, have hired “specialists from the hospitality industry to devise special concierge programs,” as sports teams are “facing intensifying competition from other entertainment options,” according to Adam Thompson of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The Nets hired Dashawnda Brown away from Four Seasons Hotels to run their concierge program. Her job is to “find inexpensive ways to make regular customers feel special. That could mean something as simple as a tour of the locker room or as significant as the chance to vent frustrations to the home team’s upper management.” Nets CMO Tom Glick estimated that season-ticket sales account for 70% of the team’s revenue. The team has 7,000 full-season tickets this year, up from 5,500 last year, at prices ranging from $440-77,000 (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/19).

SECOND FIDDLE: In N.Y., William Rhoden wrote, “Nobody really cares about the Nets. ... There were 18,227 fans in [Continental Airlines Arena] Thursday when the Nets lost to [the Heat], but judging by the cheers, many came to see the Heat. The truth is that the passion just isn’t there.” Nets President Rod Thorn said of competition in N.Y., “The Knicks won 23 games last year and dominated the headlines.” Rhoden wrote, “The challenge is to somehow make people care passionately about the Nets. Thorn and the Nets hope that caring will kick in when the Nets cross over into Brooklyn” (N.Y. TIMES, 3/17).