The soft economy is still hitting the NBA — the average ticket price to go see an NBA game has fallen for the second consecutive year.
The average NBA ticket costs $48.08, down 2.8 percent from last year, according to Team Marketing Report, which puts together these lists for every major sporting league, and as reported by Reuters.
Last year the average NBA ticket price fell by 2.5 percent, the first decline after nearly a decade of increases. Pretty safe bet the owners bring this little fact up in the next round of Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations — David Stern has been saying revenue is up but that teams are having to discount and work harder to get that.
However, the average cost of taking a family to an NBA game — meaning adding together the cost o four tickets, two beers, four soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking, two game programs and two caps — is $289.51, up one percent from last year.
What is interesting is the NFL. NHL and MLB all saw ticket prices increase again in the last year, the NBA is the outlier.
Nineteen NBA teams cut prices while six kept them flat, according to the report. Six teams had ticket prices go up, with the Orlando Magic — moving into the new Amway Center — leading the way.
The Lakers remain the most expensive ticket with an average price of $99.25 — and they sell out almost every game. The least expensive ticket is the Memphis Grizzlies, with an average ticket price of $23.18.