Phillips Arena

[coachx]

It seems some care more about being wined and dined then the actual game itself.

The seats on the opposite from the club section are exactly the same and the beer is just as cold.

That is ........for those of us who don't care about being a "balla." LOL

I have sat in the club side for concerts (where you take a date). Sure its nice if you want to sit around a huge oval bar and miss the concert or game.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Just so that some of you can see how the Hawks compare to the other teams around the league, I'll post a link to an article talking about ticket prices around the league in 2009. The league average for tickets is $48. The average Hawk ticket costs a little under $52. Laker tickets costs over $90 on average.

A Hawk ticket rep came on here during the summer, and said that the Hawks were going to have higher ticket prices for the "big" games, than they would for other games. Most everybody around the league does that, and the Hawks were one of the last teams in the league to do this.

In 2007, the average Hawk ticket was $38. So as the team got better, and we started making the playoffs, the raised the ticket prices. That's common practice.

Anyway, here's the link showing 2009 ticket prices around the league. Make sure you download the PDF file link, that shows the chart for ticket prices for all 30 teams.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/116348

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Damn . . my bad. I posted the 2007 link. Here's the link for 2009:

http://teammarketing.com/blog/index.html?article_id=99

[Atlantaholic]

Man, I used to love going to Phillips... and that was during the time that when I stood up to clap and cheer the other 3 thousand people in the crowd would turn and stare me down like I just shot an old lady... I can't even fathom what it would be like to be there in a packed house. Only memories I have of watching the Hawks with a decent crowd was during the Smitty era when we had that long home winning streak going... but damn, that was a long, long time ago.

[HorfordTheBeast]

"Unfortunately, I also think that a lot of upper/middle class whites (good ol boys) do not like the NBA because it brings across too much of a hip hop image. I am not really sure why they act that way, but I guess in baseball and football, the teams are larger and they wear hats and helmets, so there is less identity amongst the players. This is not reflected in the majority, but I think a lot that fork out good money to go to see other sports do not watch basketball."

Wow timdawg! What an amazingly ridiculous generalization. Do me a favor and take a look at some of the other arenas in the country and tell me how many "whites" you see.... Boston? LA? Dallas? Indiana?...etc....

Lots and lots of "good ol boys" in those arenas....

I'd steer clear of the marketing position as one person suggested....doesn't seem to be your strong suit...

[kamillion]

since the local media DOESN'T give the team a lot of attention, get on twitter, facebook, etc. and do your own grass roots efforts.

use the trending topic #atlantahawks .... do SOMETHING. lol.

I go as often as possible, but because i live a good 30-45 minutes east of Philips Arena- it's not usually something I can do on a weeknight (work and grad school do not leave a lot of free time). With us being a decent drive away, we like to go in groups of say- 10-16-- taking two cars, and splitting gas and parking. it makes for an inexpensive, fun night that way. I dont know what else ASG can do barring specific Atlanta Hawks- only shuttle buses from the east side ( you'd REALLY have to have enough fans to justify a shuttle location at say, stonecrest mall).

[drzachary]

The difference between legit fan bases and other fan bases, is that the #1 reason why legit fan bases come out to see a game, is to see THEIR team. Other types of fan bases only come out for big or important games . . or to see some popular player from another team. We're still in the "other" type of fan base category.

The difference between a lot of those places and Atlanta is that we're a city of migrants and transients. I was born here and grew up here (and by here I mean Atlanta, not a suburb or the sticks, where it would be impossible to get to Philips easily) and I can count on one hand my friends who are also natives. Those that are love the Hawks, Braves, Falcons (and even the Thrashers.) Those that aren't (or whose parents aren't) love whatever sports teams they grew up watching.

It's not that native Atlantans are choosing the Heat, etc over the Hawks... it's that we are infested with people from the Miami area.

If you moved to Miami, would you drop the Hawks to be a Heat fan?

Exactly.

[Traceman]

I don't like to make excuses for fans not showing up, but these are some pretty good reasons. You my friend should take over as head of marketing. Seriously though, i know a couple people that work in the Philips marketing department and I think they could do a LOT better.

I have Falcons' season tickets as well as Hawks season tickets. My Falcons season tickets cost me an average of $98/game ($980 for 10 games as the Falcons make you buy 2 meaningless preseason games as well). That doesn't include parking ($15/game, another $150). Total cost - $1,130.

Meanwhile, my Hawks season tickets cost me an average of $36/game ($1,476 for 41 games and my tickets INCLUDE parking). 3 Preseason games were free. Total cost - $1,476.

Basically, for $346, I get 34 more Hawks games than Falcons games. I think the Hawks deal is a better deal BY FAR.

[timdawg777]

Every city is different. I was just stating a fact. Check the corporate arena and see how many pay attention to basketball vs. baseball. Just looking at percentages. I personally like basketball more and was stating that is an issue. Why do you think the league implemented a dress code. They wanted to change the image. Anyways, the biggest issue affecting all of Atlanta sports when it comes to attendance is that its a highly transient city. The majority of people are not from here, so they do not have that long time loyalty. In my office alone, you will find less Falcons fans than other teams from the north. Its not Atlanta's fault that people have left where they came from and are now staying here, but it is a tough marketing job for any Atlanta team to build that loyalty amongst fans from another region. I am pretty sure Miami struggles with the same issue. I think colleges have a much easier time, because they have a large fan base that attended the school. There is personalization. Its the job of the other Atlanta teams to try and make people feel like the Hawks, Falcons, and Braves are their teams. The Braves were able to capture that through TBS and the national broadcasts. Anyways, those are just some thoughts. I am by no means saying that the majority of white people do not like the NBA, but I am saying there are a lot of white, corporate sports fans that ignore the NBA. We need to get them in the building so they can fall in love with the Hawks like I have. I have that love from going to watch Dominique when I was young and then watching blaylock, smith and mutombo in the playoffs and nothing can beat that feeling that I had when I was at game 6 of the boston series two seasons ago. The pride for Atlanta in that building after the game was amazing. The crowd had so much energy. A great marketing campaign would have captured the fans walking out of that building with little breathing room on the way out, but everyone was chanting 7 7 7 7, and A T L A T L. Anyways, those are just my thoughts.

"Unfortunately, I also think that a lot of upper/middle class whites (good ol boys) do not like the NBA because it brings across too much of a hip hop image. I am not really sure why they act that way, but I guess in baseball and football, the teams are larger and they wear hats and helmets, so there is less identity amongst the players. This is not reflected in the majority, but I think a lot that fork out good money to go to see other sports do not watch basketball."

Wow timdawg! What an amazingly ridiculous generalization. Do me a favor and take a look at some of the other arenas in the country and tell me how many "whites" you see.... Boston? LA? Dallas? Indiana?...etc....

Lots and lots of "good ol boys" in those arenas....

I'd steer clear of the marketing position as one person suggested....doesn't seem to be your strong suit...

[Plainview1981]

The NBA isn't all that popular right now anyway. A lot of people seem to hate the NBA for different reasons and you know it's just even less popular in a city like Atlanta. I don't think the city will ever embrace the team regardless of what they do. If you watch Braves games you will notice that the magic of the 90's is long gone and so are most of the fans.

[coachx]

The NBA isn't all that popular right now anyway. A lot of people seem to hate the NBA for different reasons and you know it's just even less popular in a city like Atlanta. I don't think the city will ever embrace the team regardless of what they do. If you watch Braves games you will notice that the magic of the 90's is long gone and so are most of the fans.

The NBA is extremely popular in Atlanta and TV rating prove that.

Atlantans are just "wallet savy" and would rather watch games on their couch in Hi-Def then spend money on over priced frozen food and drinks and fight traffic after a long day of work. A 24 oz beer at the Hawks games have gone up to $10.50 this year (last year they were $8.50). That is ridiculous and that is high enough for me to stay at home and drink a 24 oz for $1.25 from the C-Store more then in years in past. A 830% mark up is simply price gouging. A cheeseburger (frozen patty with cheapo cheese and bun) was $8.50.

Even with those increased prices I will likely make it to 5 regular season games and several playoff games BUT I would go to a whole lot more games if a cheeseburger was $5.50 and a 24 oz beer was $7.50 - $8.50. (Those are still over priced but I expect to pay more at a game). Its just for the principle if nothing else. I feel like a schmuck when I pay $10.50 for a beer and $8.50 for a frozen burger.

The whole conepts of transients living in Atlanta is also an issue. There are tons of NBA fans here but not that many native Atlantans who are Hawks fans for a variety of reason that have already been discussed.

Edited November 20, 2009 by coachx

[coachx]

I have Falcons' season tickets as well as Hawks season tickets. My Falcons season tickets cost me an average of $98/game ($980 for 10 games as the Falcons make you buy 2 meaningless preseason games as well). That doesn't include parking ($15/game, another $150). Total cost - $1,130.

Meanwhile, my Hawks season tickets cost me an average of $36/game ($1,476 for 41 games and my tickets INCLUDE parking). 3 Preseason games were free. Total cost - $1,476.

Basically, for $346, I get 34 more Hawks games than Falcons games. I think the Hawks deal is a better deal BY FAR.

I'm a Falcons season ticket holder too.

The Hawks are a better deal but you must remember WHY.

NFL teams have a 60 man roster, a practice squad, alot more coaches, and more scouts to pay. They only have 8 regular season home games to generate income vs. 41 for the NBA.

NBA teams have a 12 -13 man roster to pay compared to 60.

The NFL game is more demanding physically then the NBA. There is no way an NFL team could play 4 games a week like they do in the NBA..........much less 82 a year.