Asking prices for tickets to tonight's Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland as of yesterday "ranged from $400 in the upper level to $31,000 for VIP courtside seats on StubHub," according to Kathleen Pender of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The prices fans "actually paid for a ticket to the game ranged from $500 in the nosebleeds to $11,763 in the lower club level, with the median being $999." StubHub Communications Manager Cameron Papp said the Warriors “are the top selling team on StubHub," noting their prices are "generally high because demand is high." Pender notes Warriors tickets "are going for more than" Sharks-Penguins Stanley Cup Final tickets, "even though this is the first time" the hockey team has played in the championship series. StubHub said that prices paid for Game 3, the Sharks’ first home game on Saturday, "ranged from a low of $330 to a high of $5,041 for VIP tickets, with the median being $750." The average price paid for a ticket to the Warriors finals opener as of yesterday "was $1,363," while the average price paid for a ticket to the Sharks’ first home game was $885. The average price paid for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Pittsburgh "was only $393" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/2).
LEAD BY EXAMPLE: Warriors GM Bob Myers yesterday addressed co-Owner Joe Lacob's comments from April, when he said the organization was “light years ahead of the rest of the league.” Myers laughingly admitted he “took a little heat” from other execs around the league for Lacob’s comments but “it all comes from passion.” Myers: “You want someone that puts winning first above everything ... and I will tell you not every single owner operates that way.” When you approach Lacob and “ask about, ‘We need to spend more money to get this player,’ or, ‘We need to be in the luxury tax,’ and they look at you and say, ‘Will it help us win?’ You say, ‘Yeah.’ They say, ‘Well you don’t even need to ask me that if it will help us win.’ We’re in the tax, could be in the tax next year. We have a high payroll but never once have we had to make a decision based on economic reasons as far as saving money” (“The Vertical Podcast with Woj,” SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/1).
