NBA Franchise Notes: 76ers Raising Ticket Prices Next Season

In Philadelphia, Marc Narducci reports the 76ers next season will raise ticket prices for their 1,124 floor seats and 8,072 lower-level seats. The cost of the 8,003 upper-level seats will remain flat. 76ers Senior VP/Business Operations Lara Price said that the jump is the "first ticket increase since" the '04-05 season. Floor seats will increase by an average of 8.9%, while lower-level tickets will climb an average of 4.4%. This season, tickets for floor seats range from $165-600, lower-level seats run $44-95 and upper-level seats cost $10-35 (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/18). Despite the increases, the 76ers will rank "in the median range among NBA teams in ticket prices" (Wilmington NEWS JOURNAL, 3/18).

Rockets Will Attempt To Win 23rd Straight Game In Front Of Capacity Crowd

ROCKETS: In Houston, Jenny Dial reports tonight's Celtics-Rockets game, in which the Rockets will attempt to win their 23rd straight game, is sold out, marking the Rockets' eighth consecutive sellout at the Toyota Center which ties the team's "record for consecutive sellouts ... in the regular season." Ticketing Web sites were selling tickets for the game at prices "ranging from $97 in the upper level to $975 in the club level." The top bid late Monday night on eBay for four tickets in Section 101 was $2,150 (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/18).

HIGH TECH: On Long Island, Ken Berger reported 20 teams in the NBA this year subscribe to a data and video collection service provided by Synergy Sports Technology. Synergy, founded by former Suns video coordinator Garrick Barr, logs statistics and video from every play in every NBA game, and within 30 minutes of each game's conclusion, coaches and scouts "can download streaming video of every offensive and defensive possession to a laptop or mobile device." Barr described Synergy as a "boxscore on steroids," as the service provides teams with "hundreds of sequences cataloged with accompanying video." Rockets GM Daryl Morey also uses Stratbridge Inc., which "create[s] computer applications for his data." Stratbridge, used by "about half the teams in the NBA," was created by Dartmouth MBA Matt Marolda after Morey "lured [him] ... into the sports world'' (NEWSDAY, 3/15).