The Mavericks now feature a $2,000 courtside, single-
game ticket, which costs more than the Knicks' ($1,500) and
Lakers' ($1,150) highest-priced ticket, according to Richard
Alm of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS, who wrote that prospective
Mavs Owner Mark Cuban "opted to create the eight new seats
at center court a few months ago by moving the television
broadcasters to the opposite side" of Reunion Arena. Cuban:
"Those are corporate seats, not intended for individuals.
What's it worth for a corporation to say, 'I've got the best
seats in the house?'" Alm noted that the team has sold six
of the seats for the rest of the '99-2000 season, and four
"are already taken" for next season. Dallas venture
capitalist Benny Bray "signed up for four" of the seats.
Mavs President Terdema Ussery: "We're one of the few
buildings in the country that didn't have a true row of
[Jack] Nicholson seats. There was always demand, people
calling up and saying I want seats at mid-court, but we
didn't have any. We decided if we're going to do it, we'd
make it worth our while." NBA Manager of Sports Media
Relations Dwayne Harrison said that the NBA "doesn't keep
tabs on which teams charge the highest ticket prices."
Harrison: "Obviously, the Mavericks have done their research
... and set their prices based on what they can get in the
Dallas area" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/8). Meanwhile, in Ft.
Worth, Dwain Price profiles Cuban and writes that his
"passion borders on obsession, and the team's long-suffering
fans appreciate his zest" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 4/10).
