Tickets Are Scarce, Costly For NBA All-Star Game In Orlando

Tickets for the NBA All-Star Game at Orlando's Amway Center are “as scarce as they are costly, with the league pricing lower-bowl seats at $750 a ticket and upper-bowl seats at $500,” according to Brian Schmitz of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Magic season-ticket holders must “log into an account and complete a random drawing application for the chance to buy tickets to the All-Star Game and/or ancillary events, such as the three-point shoot-out and slam-dunk contest.” Magic CEO Alex Martins said that only 3,000 tickets in the lottery will be available to Magic season-ticket holders. Martins said there is a "very slim chance" for fans other than season-ticket holders to attend the All-Star Game on Feb. 26. He noted that the NBA “controls the ticket inventory and pricing.” Martins also encouraged fans “to attend the events surrounding the All-Star Weekend if they want to be part of the experience.” He said that there will be “about 5,000 tickets available for the rookie vs. sophomore game on Friday night, for example ($50 for lower-bowl seating, $35 for upper bowl)” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/5).

VOTE REALLY EARLY AND OFTEN: The NBA released its fan ballot for the All-Star Game yesterday, and Slam magazine's Kyle Stack wrote on his Twitter feed, "Roughly 10 days into the #NBA season and All-Star balloting begins today." The AP's Tim Reynolds wrote, "All-Star voting starts in half an hour. Philadelphia has played 4 games." Yahoo Sports' Kelly Dwyer wrote, "I voted absolutely nobody to the 2012 NBA All-Star Game because we're six games into the bloody season." The N.Y. Daily News' Frank Isola wrote, "Did someone say contraction? Gerald Henderson, Anthony Morrow, Andray Blatche, Jonas Jerebko, Joel Anthony are on the East ballot." The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman wrote, "Curious to see how Heat handle announcements for All-Star voting. Do they actually remind fans to not forget to vote for Joel Anthony?" SI.com's Zach Lowe wrote, "The only reasonable reaction to the release of the All-Star ballot today is to laugh and then ignore it."