Franchise Notes
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Bucks Looking To Play Two Exhibition
Games In China Next Season |
A source indicated that the Bucks next fall will play two exhibition games in China, and in Milwaukee, Charles Gardner notes it is "safe to say the presence" of Bucks F Yi Jianlian has "something to do with the selection." An NBA spokesperson declined to confirm the games (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/9).
CELTICS: The Celtics last week hired a company to sell 300 sets of tickets to upcoming playoff games, but Celtics President Rich Gotham said the "systems crashed." Gotham: "The company was hit with 700,000 requests for just 300 tickets." Meanwhile, NBA statistics show that Celtics "jerseys, hats and other gear are top sellers." Gotham added that the team is leading the league in away-game ticket sales. Gotham: "Our TV ratings have almost doubled, and our sponsorship revenue has grown, and sales of season tickets increased 40[%]" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/9). Comcast SportsNet New England this season through 69 Celtics telecasts is averaging a 3.5 rating, up from a 1.7 for the '06-07 season (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/9).
SOUNDERS: MLS Seattle Sounders FC co-Owner Joe Roth said season-ticket holders are “going to see something different [they’ve] never seen in sports” when the club begins to assign seat designations. Roth: “It’s going to work in [a] Facebook-like way, where you can find out who is sitting in which section and who their favorites teams are and things like that. We can actually seat the stadium with some intelligence. We’re going to try to do things a little bit different.” Meanwhile, Roth also has proposed a "weekly NFL Films-inspired program on the team" (ESPNSOCCERNET.com, 4/8).
RAYS: The Rays sold out their home opener last night for the third straight season, and Owner Stuart Sternberg said, “In years past they’ve come and they want to be there for opening game. Now I really do believe they want to be there for the opening game of what could be the beginning of something pretty special. This is really a complete new beginning for us. And it looks like, fortunately, we are hitting the ground running” (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 4/8).
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