The Hornets last week sent out notices for season-ticket renewals, with prices "rising by an average" of 5%, according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Hornets Exec VP and Chief Sales & Marketing Manager Pete Guelli said that the "increasing emphasis on seat-by-seat analysis and pricing means that some seats may cost the same while others go up" by as much as 10%. Spanberg noted attendance at Hornets games is up by 15% "over this time a year ago." The Hornets rank "15th in attendance to date in the league." Since '04, the first season of the city's second NBA expansion entry, the franchise has "always finished in the bottom third of the 30-team NBA in attendance." Through 25 of 41 home dates, crowds at the 19,000-seat Time Warner Cable Arena "average 17,443 per game," or 91% of capacity. The Hornets have "posted seven sellouts" this season, while only "four games sold out" during the entirety of the '13-14 season. A switch from the Bobcats to the Hornets this season and a playoff run last year has made the club "relevant with local fans after nearly a decade in the NBA wilderness." Sponsorship and ticket sales have "surged during the past year." Guelli said of the team's rebranding, "I don't think we knew what the ceiling was. Our research showed that fans would respond, and they have." Spanberg wrote revenue "should rise" from $130M last season. After raising prices by about 10% prior to this season, the Hornets "sold a franchise-record 4,000 full-season tickets," a record for the franchise (
BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/28).
