The NBA and QuintEvents have renewed their deal, giving the company rights to sell ticket and hospitality packages to the 2012 All-Star Weekend, Feb. 24-26 in Orlando.
Last year was the first time the NBA has sold All-Star hospitality packages to the general public in its partnership with Charlotte-based QuintEvents.
The company sold out its allotment of a few hundred tickets for last year’s game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The new deal with the NBA includes about a 10 percent increase in ticket inventory for the 2012 event at the 18,500-seat Amway Center.
QuintEvents will sell packages ranging from $1,699 to $8,199. Last year, prices ranged between $1,599 and $8,299.
The packages include tickets to all All-Star events held at the Amway Center culminating with the All-Star Game on Feb. 26. Hotel accommodations are also included in some of the packages.
The tickets are in all areas of the Amway Center, and this year the company has added on-court access after the All-Star Game to some of its packages, which also include pre- and postgame hospitality and ground transportation.
“The league is giving us more inventory so we are adding some on-court experiences like we have done in the past at the Super Bowl,” said QuintEvents Chief Executive Officer Brian Learst. “[The NBA] All-Star Game is a difficult ticket for the public, but the league has given us more inventory in all levels.”
But this year brings a shorter selling season for QuintEvents. Because of the lockout, the company did not begin selling NBA hospitality packages until late December. Last year, the company began selling hospitality packages to the February game in November.
QuintEvents has similar hospitality deals with the NFL as part of its On Location program with the league, which includes the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl and the draft. QuintEvents also has a hospitality deal with Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.
Based on last year’s sales, QuintEvents is making available large blocks of ticket packages to appeal to international buyers.
“A significant number of sales are international, and that is something we don’t really see with the Super Bowl and the Kentucky Derby,” Learst said.
QuintEvents also sold hospitality packages to the NBA’s draft last year, but the company has not yet completed a draft deal this year.
