Menu
Leagues and Governing Bodies

NBA Lockout Watch, Day 104: Could MSG Be The Biggest Franchise Hit?

The "biggest losers of the NBA lockout may turn out to be Madison Square Garden’s shareholders," according to Decambre & Atkinson of the N.Y. POST. MSG and its MSG Network are facing a $70M revenue hit if the league’s entire 82-game season is a wash, according to expert estimates. Media analyst Rich Tullo said that lost ticket sales from the Nov. 2-14 canceled games "will drain as much” as $7M from MSG. Another $3M in "lost advertising dollars could come from MSG Networks" (N.Y. POST, 10/12).

COULD ENTHUSIASM WANE IN SACRAMENTO? In Sacramento, Bizjak & Kawahara note if the "labor impasse drags on, it could erode some of the public enthusiasm for a new arena that the Kings created last May, when they halted their efforts to move to Anaheim." Sacramento City Hall arena task force member Michael Ault said it is possible the loss of games could "have some psychological impact" on public support for the $387M arena proposed for the downtown railyard. But he notes the arena -- "which would also host concerts and other events -- is 'about more than sports' and will likely move forward regardless of the Kings." Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson: "We're going full speed ahead." Bizjak & Kawahara note without the Kings, "it's not as if Power Balance Pavilion will shut down." Kings PR Dir Chris Clark said that the organization "expects to fill in more dates with 'fan engagement events' at the arena, including a big-screen showing of a documentary about late Kings player Wayman Tisdale" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/12) A SACRAMENTO BEE editorial under the headline, “NBA Dispute Saps Kings’ Momentum,” states the lockout “could give the city more leverage in negotiations with the King owners. If a final deal calls for big-market teams to share more revenue, it could make the Lakers, in particular, more opposed to allowing the Kings to move to Anaheim as a new competitor in Southern California. … But the longer this impasse lasts, the more likely it is that fans will lose interest” (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/12).

TEAM NOTES: In Ft. Lauderdale, Ira Winderman notes the Heat "continue to attempt to market the brand including a Thursday 'Eat with the Heat' food truck event at AmericanAirlines Arena from 11:30a.m. to 2:30p.m., with the carefully worded promotion of giveaways of free tickets to upcoming 'events'" at the arena (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 10/12)....In Newark, Colin Stephenson cites a person with management ties to an East Coast arena that hosts NBA games as saying that “to the Prudential Center, losing an entire season of Nets games won’t necessarily be a hardship.” The source added that “if the NBA cancels the entire regular season, the Prudential Center can make up any lost revenue from the 41 Nets games by booking concerts for the newly available dates.” Citing the Nets attendance was toward the bottom of the league in ’10-11, the source said, “Three or four very good shows will make up for an entire season of Nets revenue” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 10/12)….Philadelphia First Deputy City Controller Harvey Rice said that the city “will lose an estimated $87,000 in amusement taxes – five percent of tickets sales – from cancellation” of the first three 76res home games (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/12)....Spurs officials “would not say how many fans had requested their money back Tuesday, citing an NBA gag order on lockout-related talk” (MYSANANTONIO.com, 10/12)....In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz wrote Haws employees “have yet to hear from either impending new owner Alex Meruelo or impending lame duck majority owners from the Atlanta Spirit about whether there will be a payroll reduction -- be it in the form of layoffs, furloughs or salary cuts” (AJC.com, 10/11).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2011/10/12/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NBA-Teams.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2011/10/12/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NBA-Teams.aspx

CLOSE