High-ranking team execs took a broad view of the issues facing franchises this morning during the opening session of the AT&T Sports Facilities & Franchises conference hosted by SBJ/SBD. The panel, titled “The Presidents’ Perspective on Franchise and Facility Management,” featured Devils Arena Entertainment President Rich Krezwick, Cubs President Crane Kenney, Bobcats President & COO Fred Whitfield, Jazz President & COO Randy Rigby and former Nationals President Stan Kasten. On the subject of dealing with different ownership styles, Whitfield said of former Bobcats Owner Bob Johnson, “Oftentimes the local owner is misunderstood.” The Ricketts family purchased the Cubs from Tribune Co., and Kenney said, “We went from the extremes of a corporation … to a family of four individuals.” He noted three members the Ricketts family are “at the ballpark” most nights. He added Principal Owner Tom Ricketts “has a plan” and has “articulated it in the marketplace.” Whitfield said Michael Jordan also has made his plan for building the Bobcats “very clear.” On the topic of labor, Kasten said he believes the NBA is “more likely” to lose games than the NFL is, but added, “I still say neither league will lose.” Rigby said he thinks the NFL will lose games, while Krezwick does not.
LOOK INTO THE CRYSAL BALL: The panelists also discussed the future of the commissioners. Kasten expressed skepticism about MLB’s Bud Selig saying he will retire after ’12. Kasten said the “owners will prevail on Selig” to stay, joking they might even “prop him up like a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s' thing.” Rigby said the NBA’s David Stern has shown “no desire on his part of distancing himself from the game.” Whitfield said, “I hope not.” Krezwick said Gary Bettman is “having his best year” as NHL Commissioner. Meanwhile, Kasten said he is “afraid of the day when fans have better experience” at home instead of at the game. He said his goal with the Nationals was to make fans “remember that it’s just different coming to the park.” Kenney chimed in, “Fans need to leave Wrigley with a memory.” He said fans at the historic ballpark tended to prefer its “walk back in time” atmosphere. Kenney said the team tried giving Cubs batters recorded intro music when they came to the plate, but fans objected to the departure from the traditional organ music. He also said the recent Cubs-Red Sox throwback series at Fenway Park, which featured essentially a 1918-style game presentation, was "a bit jarring" because it was so devoid of entertainment elements. He said Red Sox Exec VP & COO Sam Kennedy told him he was "not sure we'll do that again real soon." In the NBA, Rigby said Jazz fans “aren’t in one bucket,” and the team has a challenge to appeal to “numbers geeks,” along with families and people enjoying the social aspect of the game. Whitfield related how the Bobcats have “revamped game presentation” in the last several years, as the previous presentation style was “too urban” for the Charlotte market.
TICKET TO RIDE: Also during the opening session, Krezwick picked up right where yesterday’s Ticketing Symposium left off, saying he is “very worried about where ticketing is going.” Krezwick argued the current consumer culture has “so conditioned an online purchase to be a discount,” and that the secondary market and dynamic pricing have served to drive down the value of tickets. Krezwick: “Nobody buys at full price anymore. It’s all about waiting for an offer.” Kasten countered, “Long-term, you never lose money by giving your fans value. … The more value we provide for fans, we’re going to find a way to generate more business and get that excess money that’s going to third-party vendors back into us. There’s opportunity there.” Kenney said the “only thing I know for sure” when the club sets ticket prices at the start of the season is “we’re wrong.” Kenney said dynamic pricing plays a big role in “letting the market dictate where our prices will be.” Whitfield added, “Even when you go below (face value), you’re capturing that revenue. As long as you’re protecting your season-ticket holder pricing, at least you’re making an effort to fight that third party.” Krezwick asked, “Or are you driving your price further down?” He drew a parallel to the music business several years ago, when it began to lose control of distribution. Krezwick: “I’m not saying we can control it, but we have all seen the price of a ticket go down.” Kenney noted MLB “partnered with StubHub,” but now “a lot of people are looking back on that decision.” Kenney: “It was not a good long-term decision for us, and we get a chance to revisit that shortly.” Krezwick said he uses StubHub to continually monitor ticket value “like I use CBS MarketWatch to watch the stock market.” Kasten said teams and leagues “need to be in StubHub’s business.” Krezwick said, “I agree one thousand percent.” But he reiterated that there are “too many distribution channels” to control the market. Rigby said, “That’s why we went with the Veritix model, is we felt that we had more control. Their ownership is connected with team ownership.”
