Half of the NBA Kings' season-ticket holders "are facing price increases" for next year, but the "timing is more than a little awkward" as many fans remain upset about the firing of coach Mike Malone and the team's 16-25 record midway through the season, according to Dale Kasler of the SACRAMENTO BEE. The Kings said that they have "gotten mostly positive responses since informing fans last week about next year’s prices." Kings President Chris Granger said that "scores of fans have renewed already." Granger: "Response has been strong." He added, "People are excited about the core of this basketball team, people are excited about what we have planned downtown. And, like us, people are in this for the long haul.” Kasler reports the Kings are "offering a variety of perks for early renewals and are reaching out individually to many of those ticket holders who've voiced their discontent on the Internet." Granger said that half of season-ticket holders "won’t see any price increase at all." For the rest, most of the increases "are in the range of $1 to $10 per seat per game." Those who do not renew before Feb. 20 "can expect additional price hikes and won’t be guaranteed the same seats they currently hold." While this "marks the second consecutive year of increases for season-ticket holders, the Kings had previously gone seven straight years during which prices held steady or dropped." Granger: “Our prices are still lower than they were in the 2005-06 season.” Kasler notes only three NBA teams "have cheaper tickets than the Kings this year." Granger and the Kings’ sales team are "using social media to respond to fans’ discontent." When season-ticket holder Mark Sloan "complained on Twitter about the higher prices, Granger called him 10 minutes later." Sloan said, “I was very impressed. I’d love to say ‘yes’ to them but haven’t yet" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/20).
