NOW THE BULLS SALES STAFF HAS SOME WORK TO DO IN RENEWALS

          Bulls season-ticket holders received letters from the
     team "telling them they have until April 27 to pay" a 10%
     deposit to reserve their seats for next season, according to
     Ron Rapoport of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.  This marks the first
     time ever the Bulls have asked for such a deposit, and it is
     "far earlier" than the mid-July date when full season-ticket
     payment is normally due.  Usually, the Bulls were able to
     gauge renewals for the following season by allowing fans to
     apply the price of playoff tickets to any unplayed playoff
     games the following season.  Now, the Bulls "rapid decline"
     means they "no longer can count on selling out, and they
     won't have a playoff berth to give them an indication of how
     many tickets they're going to have to sell."  Bulls
     VP/Marketing Steve Schanwald: "It's certainly going to be
     more challenging and tougher" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/30).