The Sharks have parted ways with Exec VP and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer FLAVIL HAMPSTEN, who "became a lightning rod for some fan dissatisfaction" last winter when the team "rolled out its season ticket renewal push in January" for the '17-18 season, according to Jody Meacham of the SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL. Among the changes in that plan was a "new pricing system based on the demand for each individual seat, not the section-by-section pricing of the past." That meant some fans sitting next to each other "might be paying very different prices." Sharks COO JOHN TORTORA in September said that season-ticket sales for this season were about 12,000 "with around a 90 percent renewal rate." Meacham noted that was "still below the 14,000-seat record level" of '12 at SAP Center. Hampsten was hired in '15 to "restore attendance depressed by a playoff collapse" in '14. He was also a "visible member of the team's front office to its season ticket base" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/19). Hampsten in a statement said, "The job was always intended to be short-term. When I started, ownership and senior leadership set out very specific business targets to achieve and I’m proud of the entire team because many of those targets have been met and surpassed." In San Jose, Curtis Pashelka notes attendance has "dipped this season" as the Sharks have announced sellouts for "just seven of 17 home games" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 12/20).
