The use of virtual reality has accelerated the sale of premium seats for
Golden 1 Center, the Sacramento Kings’ arena set to open in October 2016.
Team officials launched the marketing of club seats July 6 at the Xperience Center, their preview center overlooking arena construction. By the end of the month, the Kings expect to sell all 850 sideline club seats situated in rows four through 12 of the lower bowl, team President Chris Granger said. Those seats cost $200 to $300 a person per game. On the same day, the Kings started selling courtside seats, some priced at more than $2,000 a person per game. As of last week, they had moved about 300 of the 450 seats, which make up the three rows closest to the floor.
“It’s going to take us a few more weeks on [courtside seats], but we fully expect to be sold out of everything in the very short term,” Granger said.
For both premium seat products, the use of
Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headsets programmed with images of those luxury spaces, has been instrumental for closing deals at a rapid pace, Granger said.
“It’s such a powerful way to tell a story,” Granger said. “[Potential buyers] can literally do a walk-through of the courtside club and see the
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Virtual-reality headsets allow potential ticket buyers to visit the Courtside Club (top) and the suite-level club at the new Golden 1 Center.
Photo by: SACRAMENTO KINGS (2)
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Tahoe- and Napa Valley-inspired thematic in the rooms. It gives people a great sense of comfort as to what they can expect. It makes the investment safe and easy for our fans.”
To keep the “uniquely Sacramento” theme for arena development, the Kings hired local interior designer David Bradford Lee to select the color schemes for the eight clubs, including the 4,300-square-foot Courtside Club.
Lee, a graduate of the famed Parsons School of Design in New York, carries the title of event design specialist for the arena project. Over the past 15 years, Lee and Matina Kolokotronis, the Kings’ president of business operations, have worked together on other team projects, and she felt he had the expertise to choose the right palettes, whether it’s the chic, sophisticated Napa wine theme for the Courtside Club or the more rustic farm-to-fork theme of the suite-level club.
Granger said, “We wanted this arena to be celebratory of the best of our region and we thought it made the most sense to hire someone who lives here every day. We didn’t just think we would get that by working [only] with designers in Kansas City, for example.”
For AECOM, the architect of record for Golden 1 Center, it’s not unusual for a team to use a local consultant to provide direction for the “warm and fuzzy” aspects of arena design, said Jon Niemuth, AECOM’s director of sports in the Americas. The same situation arose at AT&T Center in San Antonio and FedEx Forum in Memphis, two arena projects Niemuth worked on when his firm was known as Ellerbe Becket. In some cases, such as the Spurs, the team owner’s family fills that role, Niemuth said.
> NEW HIRES: Spectra has hired Martin Thorson as a vice president in charge of business development for its venue management and food service groups. Thorson has worked for Sodexo and SMG, among other firms. … Matt Pope is Legends’ new vice president of West Coast sponsorship. He was most recently employed with Premier Partnerships after working for the NBA, MLB and Los Angeles Lakers. … Over the past six months, HOK has added a half-dozen experienced designers. Joe Diesko, Tambra Thorson, Stewart Ervie, Jim Chibnall, Jerome Unterreiner and Julie Rinaldi have all come on board after HOK merged with 360 Architecture to restart its sports practice. Diesko and Thorson worked on Levi’s Stadium while with HNTB. Ervie and Chibnall are part of HOK’s team developing a proposed NFL stadium in St. Louis.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @breakground.
