NBA Franchise Notes: Hornets Reaping Benefits Of Playoff Run
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| Hornets Benefiting From Extended Playoff Run |
Hornets VP/Ticket Sales & Corporate Strategic Development Bill Bailey said that the team, which holds a 2-0 lead over the Spurs in the NBA Western Conference Semifinals, has added an "additional 2,400 full season-ticket holders," and only 1,700 seats in the lower bowl at New Orleans Arena remain for the '08-09 season. Bailey: "Obviously, winning a round of the playoffs and going into the second round [has] really taken us to the next level" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/3). Meanwhile, NBA figures show the Hornets are "among the top-selling teams" in merchandise at the NBA Store in N.Y., and league officials said that since the All-Star break in February, online sales of the team's merchandise at NBA.com "have increased by triple digits." Hornets G Chris Paul's No. 3 Jersey currently ranks No. 4 in jersey sales, up from No. 15 in January. Meanwhile, the Hornets' first-round playoff games on TNT and ESPN received 18.3 and 11.1 national ratings, respectively (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/3).
HAWKS: In Atlanta, Steve Hummer wrote while the Hawks lost their first-round NBA Playoff series to the Celtics, there was a feeling among team ownership that the Hawks "had made a statement in this series, one that will speak to the paying customers." Atlanta Spirit VP/Ticket Sales & Service Brendan Donohue: "The biggest thing is to capture the new fans who came out of nowhere this series." Donohue noted that '08-09 season-ticket sales are "far ahead of the pace of a year ago." Donohue: "We found out that corporate Atlanta really got behind this team. That shows up with the higher-end seats" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 5/5).
76ERS: Game Six of the Pistons-76ers first-round playoff series drew 14,130 fans at the 20,444-seat Wachovia Center. None of the three games at Wachovia Center during the series sold out, though the first two drew more than 18,000 fans (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/4).
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