Luxury boxes transformed American sports. The revenue from corporations and wealthy individuals who rent out those boxes in majors sports arenas across the nation — followed by the premium seating below them — dramatically changed the revenue streams in all professional sports.
Now, it’s about finding more things people will pay a premium for. During and after Lakers games at Staples what used to be a luxury box is now a high-end Hyde nightclub (that is usually packed with people who don’t care too much about the game).
Or how about paying extra to be in an area where you can watch the players go between the floor and the locker room? The Dallas Cowboys had big success with that in their stadium, and the Knicks are going to have that at the renovated Madison Square Garden, reports Darren Rovell at CNBC.And so, when the folks at Madison Square Garden were dreaming up new features for their big renovation, giving fans the option of seeing Knicks and Rangers players leaving the locker room to go onto the court and the ice was a must-have.
The area in the arena is called the Delta SKY360 Club and fans can watch the Knicks and Rangers go from their locker rooms onto the court and ice before they go to their seats. Those fans can also watch through the glass to see what is going on in the MSG studio.
There are 800 season ticket holders (sold separately for Knicks and Rangers fans) that have access to the club and they pay an undisclosed amount for the all-inclusive tickets, which include a seat just above the floor, food and non-alcoholic drinks.Every player and agent that reads about this is saying the exact same thing — revenue sharing.