The Pacers enter the '15-16 season tonight with sales of season tickets, merchandise and sponsorships "all up" from last season, and attendance is "expected to match -- or even exceed" -- the '13-14 season, when the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals, according to Anthony Schoettle of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The increases come despite the the Pacers missing the playoffs "for the first time" since '10. Season-ticket sales are up 5%, merch sales up 8% and sponsorship sales up 15%. Season-ticket renewals are at 96%, putting the Pacers "in the NBA's top 10." Team execs are "optimistic" attendance can exceed the average of 17,501 seen in '13-14. Attendance fell last year to 16,864 "after three consecutive years of gains," in part due to the nearly season-long injury to F Paul George and the free agency departure of G Lance Stephenson. Pacers Sports & Entertainment Senior VP and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Todd Taylor said that the addition of rookies Myles Turner and Joe Young "have fans excited." Both players "will be featured in ad campaigns" during the season. Taylor added that the "return of a healthy George" and the addition of G Monta Ellis also are "fueling ticket sales." Schoettle noted the Pacers have added several new sponsors for this season, including FanDuel, Teachers Credit Union, Room Place and Arby's. The team also is "finalizing plans to replace" the Bankers Life Fieldhouse's Area 55 fan section that was associated with C Roy Hibbert, who was traded to the Lakers. Taylor said that the section "will have a sponsor component" (IBJ.com, 10/24).
WHAT'S BREWING? Schoettle reported Indianapolis-based Sun King Brewery has signed a deal with the Pacers to sell its Tip-Off Ale "in commemorative blue-and-gold basketball-themed cans ... at nine Bankers Life Fieldhouse locations" this season. The beer also will be available on draft. Sun King and the Pacers will throw a street party from 5:00-7:00pm ET tomorrow "to celebrate the start of the season and debut the new brew." Each can includes a customized label "featuring a basketball court cut out in the shape of Indiana, the Sun King logo, basketballs and other basketball-themed icons" (IBJ.com, 10/27).
