Staples Center's Lee Zeidman Goes On CNBC To Discuss Suite Sales

Zeidman Says LA Is Trying To Package Its Assets To Make Suites Worthwhile For Owners

The issue of luxury suite sales at sporting events was discussed on CNBC last night, and the net's Melissa Francis said sales levels "aren’t what they used to be, (as) big business doesn’t want to spend the money anymore.” To address this issue, Staples Center Senior VP & GM Lee Zeidman appeared live via satellite, along with Francis and CNBC’s Darren Rovell.

Rovell: “Years ago, teams told fans and cities they need to have the latest and greatest arena to compete and that of course included the biggest revenue generator of them all, luxury suites, which would be sold mostly to corporate America. But when times are tough ... the luxury box is a tough sell.”

Zeidman: “I do believe that the market has gone kind of soft and what we're trying to do out here in Los Angeles is to package some of our other assets and to make it more worthwhile for the suite owner that's kind of on the fence, looking to either renew or buy. By that I mean taking some of the assets that the building has to offer, i.e., we're the home of the Grammy Awards, so we'll package a Grammy suite, which is a private event, that will allow a suite owner to take his … corporate guests to the Grammys.”

Rovell: “Does that really push it over when there’s so much backlash against this?”

Zeidman: “We had probably 30% of suites up for renewal this year. We offered the Grammy package this year and we flipped 10% of those suites right off the bat. The other thing that we’re trying to do is we're taking L.A. Live, which has just opened up with our restaurants and our clubs, and we're packaging … the concert tickets that we have the ability to sell and put together and making a smart value card for our suite owners right now.”

Francis: “What do you think about all the scrutiny that's been paid to the public companies, how they spend their money right now (on marketing and entertainment)? … Are you seeing people pull out because they're worried about the image of spending money on something that’s so entertainment-driven?”

Zeidman: “We’re adding value. So it doesn't cost the corporation or the financial institution any more money to purchase the suite. … I can tell you we have been hit. There are a lot of banks that own suites here at Staples Center. There are a lot of title companies that own suites at Staples Center that are now rethinking their whole corporate strategy.”

Rovell: “How do you see suites changing across the board?”

Zeidman, who noted many venues are creating party suites out of individual suites: “I'll be honest with you. We're looking at those type of things also to see if we can bring in added-value, benefit-type clubs that will bring in a new experience and refresh our building. We're going to be 10 years old this year, so we're constantly looking for ways to increase the value of owning a suite.”

CNBC’s Donny Deutsch during the interview noted that marketing and entertainment is “part of their business. It is a shame they can’t do it. Unfortunately, the PR right now is always going to backlash.” Deutsch told Zeidman, “For a while you’re going to have to trudge through that, my friend, because that's going to be here for a while” (“CNBC Reports,” CNBC, 3/11).