I have to admit, I've lost all interest in the Timberwolves. I can't even remember the last time I actually paid to go to a game. The last game I went to, I had received free tickets from the Timberwolves promotions department.
If you've watched any of the pre-season games on TV, there's empty blue seats everywhere. Not like it was when Kevin Garnett was here, there wasn't an empty seat in the house.
I was reading Patrick Reusse's column in the Star Tribune today (click post title to read full article), and he believes the T-wolves need some serious marketing to go along with the new shooters that are part of a team that seems to be in a constant state of re-building.
They've done their best in the past couple years in the area of branding: re-designed jerseys, a re-designed logo (which looks awful) and a new Target Center court. They've done some new things in the ticketing department as well. Last season, according to Reusse's article, the T-wolves had an abysmal season ticket base of 5,000.
When Garnett played here, I remember it being almost impossible to get a seat in the lower seating bowl of the arena. The lower level at Target Center seats about 8,300 people (total capacity is just shy of 20,000). What's even worse, is the team expected to lose another 10 percent of that base from last season.
It may not be the team, however. People still are loving the Minnesota Wild on the other side of the river; even though the Wild's consecutive sellout streak at the Xcel Energy Center has come to an end. And, let's not forget all the hype about the Twins this year with Target Field opening and the overall excitement that was re-generated for the Twins. An excitement, only to be squashed away in three games against the Yankees.
The T-Wolves started things off late last season when they decided to cut season ticket prices. I don't remember too much about that particular campaign, and I can't remember whether ticket prices were cut across the board, or just for new season ticket accounts. Even before that, the team has touted a season ticket up in the far reaches of the arena, that goes for about $300-some-odd a season.
And, apparently, it's worked. The Wolves, instead of losing another 10 percent of their season ticket base, have actually GAINED about 2,000 season ticket holders. Well, that helps, but for the most part still leaves the Target Center well below half-capacity.
If you have 7,000 season ticket holders (banking on the fact that they'd all show up for every game), and 3,000 unlucky fans decide to walk up to the ticket office ten minutes before the tip-off to snag a ticket, that's only 10,000 people. Which leaves the remaining 10,000 or so seats unoccupied.
Granted, the Wolves surprisingly had a decent pre-season. But, that's happened before. I remember getting so excited one year when the Wolves went 7-1 in the preseason. Hardly did anything after that, and to my recollection, didn't even win 35 games that season.
In seasons since Garnett's departure, it's felt very much like the expansion year of 1989 all over again. Only problem was, in 1989, people were so excited to have NBA basketball back in town after an almost 30-year absence, they didn't care how bad the team was.
Now, 22 years later, people do care, and they seem to be proving it by placing their allegiances elsewhere. Even Reusse commented that the one replica jersey he saw in the stands at the Target Center the other night was an Adrian Peterson Vikings jersey. But, if this Wolves team is really as good as it seems, or as Reusse postulates, then the Wolves need to get some serious marketing work done to make these lower ticket prices pay off.
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Showing posts with label ticketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ticketing. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
A Double-Shot
Since the Twins are playing half a game today, on top of a regular nine-inning game, I thought, maybe I'd do the same with a new blog post today. So, you'll get 1 1/2 posts, for the price of one.
It seems there's been some issues with the whole rain check policy. The Twins' policy, direct from the website states: Target Field Rain out Policy
In the event a regulation game, as defined by Major League Baseball (i.e. 4 1/2 innings if the Twins are ahead and five full innings if the visiting team is ahead or the game is tied), is not played due to weather, an act of God or any other reason, the following policy will apply:
The game will be:
A. Rescheduled to an open day, or
B. Rescheduled to a split day-night doubleheader (two separate games on the same date)
Fans holding tickets to a postponed game should keep their tickets as they will be required for admission into the rescheduled game. All tickets are valid only for the rescheduled game.
But, reading on another blog site, this Major League Baseball rule was also cited:
Rule 4.12(d)
"Rain checks will not be honored for any regulation or suspended game that has progressed to or beyond a point of play described in Rule 4.10" which apparently is what is happening. Ticket holders for today's regularly scheduled 6:10 game will be admitted to the 4:10 makeup.
In the eyes of the league, last night's game, even though it "ended" in a 0-0 tie, because they called the game at the top of the 6th, the game is complete.
Hopefully, now that this has happened, the Twins will put a little PR money into that policy to further inform fans of this policy. There's maybe a learning curve of sorts for the Twins executive brass, as this is the first time we've dealt with a rain-delayed game.
I probably wouldn't feel too bad about that policy; but I worry about a group from Grand Forks, ND or Duluth that comes all the way down to the game, only to find out, their tickets are no good for the remaining four innings being played at 4:10 this afternoon.
Hopefully, clarification from the Twins will be made, so that in the future, policies can either be altered or put in place to inform fans.
Click on "A Double-Shot" to go to the other blog I was referring to, which has several comments and further explanations of what we saw yesterday.
It seems there's been some issues with the whole rain check policy. The Twins' policy, direct from the website states: Target Field Rain out Policy
In the event a regulation game, as defined by Major League Baseball (i.e. 4 1/2 innings if the Twins are ahead and five full innings if the visiting team is ahead or the game is tied), is not played due to weather, an act of God or any other reason, the following policy will apply:
The game will be:
A. Rescheduled to an open day, or
B. Rescheduled to a split day-night doubleheader (two separate games on the same date)
Fans holding tickets to a postponed game should keep their tickets as they will be required for admission into the rescheduled game. All tickets are valid only for the rescheduled game.
But, reading on another blog site, this Major League Baseball rule was also cited:
Rule 4.12(d)
"Rain checks will not be honored for any regulation or suspended game that has progressed to or beyond a point of play described in Rule 4.10" which apparently is what is happening. Ticket holders for today's regularly scheduled 6:10 game will be admitted to the 4:10 makeup.
In the eyes of the league, last night's game, even though it "ended" in a 0-0 tie, because they called the game at the top of the 6th, the game is complete.
Hopefully, now that this has happened, the Twins will put a little PR money into that policy to further inform fans of this policy. There's maybe a learning curve of sorts for the Twins executive brass, as this is the first time we've dealt with a rain-delayed game.
I probably wouldn't feel too bad about that policy; but I worry about a group from Grand Forks, ND or Duluth that comes all the way down to the game, only to find out, their tickets are no good for the remaining four innings being played at 4:10 this afternoon.
Hopefully, clarification from the Twins will be made, so that in the future, policies can either be altered or put in place to inform fans.
Click on "A Double-Shot" to go to the other blog I was referring to, which has several comments and further explanations of what we saw yesterday.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Timberwolves' Pledge
I'm sure we've all seen it by now, the TV spot featuring Glen Taylor, owner of a beleaguered Timberwolves team, sitting center-court, in a darkened Target Center, telling folks about season tickets for next year. "Season tickets as low as $5 per game" is the marketing ploy for the 2009-10 season ticket campaign.
If you have turned on a Timberwolves game lately, there have been lots of empty seats. And, it's not just four seats here, three seats there that are empty; there are entire sections of seats that are empty.
Think back 20 years, when the Timberwolves, one of the newest expansion franchises in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing in front of very large crowds at the Metrodome. As a matter of fact, in their inaugural season of 1989-90, they set an all-time NBA season attendance record of over 1 million people.
But now, the Timberwolves are changing things up for their 2009-10 season ticket campaign. In a letter penned by Glen Taylor (and also mentioned in the TV spot), the Timberwolves have reduced prices on 95% of the seats in Target Center. I looked on the Timberwolves website, they have reduced ticket prices dramatically. Glen Taylor's letter to the fans can be found at http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/tickets/200910_Glen_Taylor_Letter.html .
Don't get too excited, however. The $5-per-game tickets are way up at the top of the arena, on the ends. And, those are season ticket prices; not single-game prices. What's more, the "Early Bird" deal, as they are calling it, lasts only until July.
This might be a bad thought, but I wonder whether or not the Timberwolves are lowering ticket prices to match the product on the court. Gone are the days of the NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Gone is our beloved Kevin Garnett, who for so many years got us to the playoffs. Now. it seems as though they're starting all over again.
Perhaps, in this bad economy, which is cited as a main reason for the ticket price reduction, that's exactly what the Timberwolves should be doing from a PR standpoint. They aren't asking for a billion dollars to build a new arena; they are trying to get their fan base back. What's more, they are trying to do that amidst a bad economy and a poor team.
Another part of this new campaign is the "no-risk pledge." This confused me at first. The pledge was, that if you lost your job, you wouldn't have to pay for the season tickets; you'd get your money back. According to the letter and the website, folks who lose their jobs will be refunded the money from the unused tickets. It's unusual, if not unprecedented in professional sports. But, I'm happy the Timberwolves have made that pledge.
In this world of billion-dollar stadiums, skyrocketing ticket prices, and the increasing luxury that is professional sports, it is refreshing to see a professional team make a PR move like this. I hope that this campaign is successful for the Timberwolves. I also hope that it will set a standard for other teams to consider; instead of always wanting more from their fans, to give a little back.
In my opinion, that is what keeps a fan base.
If you have turned on a Timberwolves game lately, there have been lots of empty seats. And, it's not just four seats here, three seats there that are empty; there are entire sections of seats that are empty.
Think back 20 years, when the Timberwolves, one of the newest expansion franchises in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing in front of very large crowds at the Metrodome. As a matter of fact, in their inaugural season of 1989-90, they set an all-time NBA season attendance record of over 1 million people.
But now, the Timberwolves are changing things up for their 2009-10 season ticket campaign. In a letter penned by Glen Taylor (and also mentioned in the TV spot), the Timberwolves have reduced prices on 95% of the seats in Target Center. I looked on the Timberwolves website, they have reduced ticket prices dramatically. Glen Taylor's letter to the fans can be found at http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/tickets/200910_Glen_Taylor_Letter.html .
Don't get too excited, however. The $5-per-game tickets are way up at the top of the arena, on the ends. And, those are season ticket prices; not single-game prices. What's more, the "Early Bird" deal, as they are calling it, lasts only until July.
This might be a bad thought, but I wonder whether or not the Timberwolves are lowering ticket prices to match the product on the court. Gone are the days of the NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Gone is our beloved Kevin Garnett, who for so many years got us to the playoffs. Now. it seems as though they're starting all over again.
Perhaps, in this bad economy, which is cited as a main reason for the ticket price reduction, that's exactly what the Timberwolves should be doing from a PR standpoint. They aren't asking for a billion dollars to build a new arena; they are trying to get their fan base back. What's more, they are trying to do that amidst a bad economy and a poor team.
Another part of this new campaign is the "no-risk pledge." This confused me at first. The pledge was, that if you lost your job, you wouldn't have to pay for the season tickets; you'd get your money back. According to the letter and the website, folks who lose their jobs will be refunded the money from the unused tickets. It's unusual, if not unprecedented in professional sports. But, I'm happy the Timberwolves have made that pledge.
In this world of billion-dollar stadiums, skyrocketing ticket prices, and the increasing luxury that is professional sports, it is refreshing to see a professional team make a PR move like this. I hope that this campaign is successful for the Timberwolves. I also hope that it will set a standard for other teams to consider; instead of always wanting more from their fans, to give a little back.
In my opinion, that is what keeps a fan base.
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