I don't think so. Sure, many observers have noted that Nets fans are not as passionate as Knicks fans, or other teams with more established fan bases. But the Nets filled 94.9% of their arena, while the Knicks sold 96.3%. And the Nets, of course, sold a lot of gear, fourth in the NBA.
The authors of the study, at Emory University, finally put up some backing data (at my and others' request):
I don't think that helps much. The Knicks' attendance edge is magnified by an arena with greater capacity, and the willingness of Knicks fans to pay more has less to do with passion than a longstanding monopoly position in a large market.
There is also an error in the percenatage of seats sold. The percentage used here is based on a capacity of 18,000, the original Barclays Center number for NBA games. As you know that, the capacity was reduced by 17,732 (apparently after the loge seats were added.) So the actual percentage of seats sold is 96.9 percent. That would put the Nets at tenth, just ahead of the Knicks at 96.3 percent and just below the Warriors, two fan bases noted for their loyalty.
ReplyDeleteThe authors relied on ESPN, which uses the 18,000 figure when the Nets own website notes the 17,732 figure.
http://www.nba.com/nets/brooklyn/front_office_brooklyn.html
Also, the home revenue numbers are proprietary.
Thanks, Bob Windrem.
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