Sunday, November 7, 2010

Increasing ticket sales inspite of the economy

Okay, I know that the last thing anyone wants is to me constantly reminded of the economy, but I came across an interesting article recently and I figured that I would share my thoughts.  In a nutshell, the article describes ways in which facility managers have found ways to produce revenue in this struggling economy. With the rise of networking websites, most facilities have created profiles on sites like Facebook and Twitter.  Others have discounted tickets or created payment plans.  In addition to lowering prices, some have added meal value deals or partnered with local businesses to provide discounts to the consumer. 
After reading the article, I started to think about the things that the Orlando Magic Facility Manager has done to increase their revenue.  For those of you that do not know, Orlando has a brand new, state of the art facility, which has been called the pride of Orlando.  While other franchises may promote their players, the Magic has put more effort in promoting the new Amway Center.  This is a good idea because in the NBA, when a team gets a new arena they almost always see a rise in attendance.  So far, for the Orlando Magic the economy has not affected their revenue.  For other NBA Facility Managers they must learn to add more value to keep the potential ticket buyers coming back.  
One of the best ways to add more value for the consumer is to make watching the game a more complete package.  In this economy, most families are looking for entertainment that will be all inclusive, so to speak.  By providing a package option in which a buyer could get a meal along with the game experience, the family will not have to spend more money to feed everyone before or after the game.  Another way to increase attendance give vouchers to schools, which they can give to students for achievements.  This will encourage more family attendance because the parents will need to purchase tickets.  There are countless things that can be done to appeal to the consumer, but much like the article states, "No matter what steps facility management takes to increase attendance, the fans have the ultimate say when it comes to buying tickets".  Which leads me to this: If the team wins games, fan base increases; maybe this will increase ticket sales, just a thought. 

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