Despite having consecutive No. 1 draft picks in G Andrew Wiggins and C Karl-Anthony Towns, the T'Wolves "have seen a decrease of 300 fans per game this season," according to Andy Greder of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The team's average home attendance of 14,229 "is the franchise’s lowest mark" since '03-04 and "ranks 29th among 30 NBA teams heading into" yesterday's game against the Thunder. T'Wolves President Chris Wright "pointed to ending discounted tickets in the upper deck" for the attendance decline. Wright "watches 'two leading indicators' of increasing interest" in the team. First, the T'Wolves "say single-game tickets are up" 50% over last season, and second, FS North said that TV ratings for the net "are up" 28% across the first 23 home games. The age 25-49 demographic is up 155% over last season, and viewership among millennials (ages 18-34) is up 49%. However, winning games "cranks the turnstiles," and the T'Wolves at 14-33 have the fourth-worst record in the league. Since the team last made the playoffs in '03-04, the T'Wolves' attendance has dropped 15%. After F Kevin Garnett was traded to the Celtics in July '07, attendance "bottomed out at 14,476" in '07-08. When G Ricky Rubio "dazzled in his rookie year" and the T'Wolves flirted with .500 in '11-12, attendance "shot back above 17,000." Then turnout "has slid in each of the following four years." The team "ditched all paper tickets in favor of digital this season," and fans "now download Flash Seats software and show the app on their smartphone to the arena’s ticket taker, who then prints off a stub for fans to get in." Wright said that the WNBA Lynx and T'Wolves "were the first two pro teams to go" to 100% digital tickets. Wright said that Flash Seats have "been well received by fans, especially those trying to transfer tickets to family or friends" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 1/27).
