The Cavaliers on Friday "all but sold out of season tickets less than eight hours" after LeBron James announced he would sign with the team, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. A source said that the team "capped season-ticket sales at slightly more than 12,000 tickets Friday, leaving roughly 8,000 tickets per game to be used for group sales and ticket plans." Shortly before 12:30pm ET, when James' decision was revealed, the Cavaliers' ticket phone lines were "so jammed that the team began rerouting lines in the office to be used for ticket sales." The Cavaliers "sell season tickets only over the phone." Prior to Friday, fans who were "interested in buying season tickets had to put down a deposit of $200 per seat." But once James decided, the Cavs "upped the deposit to a flat $500 fee." Season-ticket prices "stayed the same, although individual tickets are expected to be priced dynamically as they have been in the past" (ESPN.com, 7/11). A team spokesperson on Friday said fans are "excited and it's been a very active day with high volume of sales with near unprecedented volume of calls" (CLEVELAND.com, 7/11). The '14-15 schedule has yet to be released, but in Ohio, Bob Finnan noted tickets for the Cavaliers' home opener "are going to sell for big dollars." With the Cavs "selling out of available season tickets, that will leave the secondary market as the only way for fans to buy tickets." SeatGeek Communications Analyst Connor Gregoire expects Cavaliers tickets to be the "most expensive in the NBA" next year. He said that the club makes it "difficult for out-of-state brokers and amateur resellers to get their hands on tickets" (Willoughby NEWS-HERALD, 7/12).
CLEVELAND ROCKS: BLOOMBERG NEWS' Scott Soshnick noted James makes the Cavaliers a $1B franchise, "almost double what the team would be worth" without him. Boston-based venture capital firm Christie & Associates Managing Dir Peter Schwartz said, "Certainly the brand itself, as well as the revenue that the team is able to generate, is much stronger with him." Legends Global Sales President and former Cavaliers Exec VP & CMO Chad Estis said that the addition of James will "boost the team’s revenue in all areas, including ticket and merchandise sales and sponsor value" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 7/12). Forbes in January had the Cavaliers valued at $515M, but Estis said that with James, they "instantly benefit from merchandising, ticket sales, increased TV exposure and sponsors, with James previously having taken the team from the 'low, low, low end' of league revenue to the top 10" (N.Y. POST, 7/12).
THE KING AND I: In Cleveland, Robert Smith wrote James is an "economic force -- a proven revenue generator in Greater Cleveland." As sports fans "look toward a new era of basketball, business owners and managers are planning for a new economy." James returning "should vault the Cavs back toward the upper tier of pro sports franchises" (CLEVELAND.com, 7/12). In Ohio, Jim Ingraham wrote in the "blink of an eye," the value of the team "increased by millions of dollars" (LORAIN MORNING JOURNAL, 7/12).
