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Trail Blazers Expecting To
Sell Out All 41 Home Games |
The Trail Blazers brand is "so strong that the team has been able to increase both prices and sales, even though fans and businesses are coping with tighter budgets," leaving the franchise "on as solid a financial footing as it has been in recent memory," according to Joe Freeman of the Portland OREGONIAN. Though the franchise "does not expect to turn a profit this season," Blazers management said that the team "is poised to sell out all 41 home games." Revenue from ticket sales "has increased 32[%] from last season," and "revenue from sponsorships and luxury suites are up significantly -- in part because of increased prices." Revenue from sponsorships is up "19[%] overall from last season, as the team has enjoyed a 55[%] increase in new-sponsor revenue." Trail Blazers President Larry Miller: "It's really night-and-day. If you look at where this organization was a couple of years ago and where it is today, I think we've turned the corner as far as getting a legitimate, viable business model in place." In the most recent results of a Blazers' twice-a-year survey of local residents, the team was given a 95% favorability rating, the "highest mark since the inception of the survey in 2001." Miller: "The fans and the community are re-engaged with this team." Freeman notes the team "continues to pursue sponsors" for naming rights to the Rose Garden, and Trail Blazers CMO Sarah Mensah said that the team "expects to find a sponsor sometime this season so that the building will be renamed for 2009-10." The team also for this season has "partnered with Widmer Brewery to add a new concourse bar at the Rose Garden," and the Blazers "plan to expand the merchandise store at the arena, both in size and availability" (
Portland OREGONIAN, 9/29).
