As New York Liberty's popularity increases, fans see aggressive price increases for 2025 tickets. Some are outraged. (It's not just "capitalism.")
The increased popularity of the WNBA (featuring marquee rookies like Caitlin Clark) and league-leading New York Liberty has led the team to open up Upper Bowl seats in the Barclays Center for every game (and an average attendance of 12,646, second in the league, a 60% jump over last year). Numerous sports celebrities were in the audience yesterday.
By now, it doesn't. And that means, as the organizer of the spreadsheet stated, "The @nyliberty games being affordable for the community near Barclays has been the only good thing about the arena. As someone who fought against Atlantic Yards many years ago it’s not lost on me that BSE is finally pushing out the fans who are non-white, queer, disabled, non-men."
It's also led the team to increase ticket prices significantly for next year.
A letter from CEO Keia Clarke claims the decision "is based on what the market is calling for and we believe it will ensure tickets belong to the most loyal Liberty fans."
One observed, "Still not even enough ticket demand to open up every seat in the arena for most games, with about half the upper bowl blocked off. Maybe try to sell all the seats before doubling/tripling prices. Could see attendance fall next year honestly after this." (The arena seats 17,732 for basketball.)
The spreadsheet organizer stated, "Sad and angry about the doubling of @nyliberty season tickets. Going to lose our core fans to corporate sales."
So much for the quote from the Aug. 8 Indypendent, in The WNBA is Experiencing a Surge in Popularity… but Does its Fanbase Want It?: "It remains to be seen if the league will go the way of a hip, low-rent neighborhood that becomes gentrified and loses the qualities that made it special."
A letter from CEO Keia Clarke claims the decision "is based on what the market is calling for and we believe it will ensure tickets belong to the most loyal Liberty fans."
What? Well, she said "prices for the Upper Bowl will start at $25"--it's unclear what seats and for what games--and that "our longest-tenured season ticket members in non-premium seats" will see per-game price increases capped at 25%.
That means season ticket holders for four years or a more, according to Sports Business Journal, a very small group. (The Liberty averaged 1,757 fans in 2021, their first year at Barclays, in a COVID-constrained environment.)
Fan pushback
While SBJ said "Lower bowl seats are rising by about $30 per game, a 59% increase," various fans on Twitter/X posted screenshot suggesting far larger jumps. The fan site Liberty Lead called a price increase "understandable, but doubling the price is "absolutely INSANE! Especially for loyal season ticket holders."
One respondent said, "My seat more than doubled, and that’s AFTER the 5-year tenure discount!" while another wrote, "Our ticket prices *tripled*."
One observed, "Still not even enough ticket demand to open up every seat in the arena for most games, with about half the upper bowl blocked off. Maybe try to sell all the seats before doubling/tripling prices. Could see attendance fall next year honestly after this." (The arena seats 17,732 for basketball.)
Gothamist cited a fan-created anonymous spreadsheet to track fans' price increases, which suggested a 76% increase, not the 59% increase cited for the Lower Bowl.
The spreadsheet organizer stated, "Sad and angry about the doubling of @nyliberty season tickets. Going to lose our core fans to corporate sales."
Is it just capitalism?
One longtime fan, who saw her $30 seats go up to nearly $65, resignedly told Gothamist, “We live under capitalism, so that’s what we can expect" and predict she might resell some tickets.
Yes, owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai made a smart investment, getting the team from New York Knicks owner James Dolan for a song, and investing in new players and a more professional organization.
Except it's not purely capitalism--it's crony capitalism that gives the owner an arena on tax-exempt land, with tax-exempt financing.
Also, Joe Tsai has called the NBA, at least, a "socialist setup" because owners share revenue. (In the WNBA, revenue sharing may be coming.)
In other words, public largesse enables private profit, and has helped the value of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and the arena boom, as indicated by the recent investment by the family of Julia Koch.
Build locally
NetsDaily cited the Liberty's effort in trying to appeal to local girls:
They have hosted clinics throughout the year, but this summer they tried something new.Yeah, that was the one where the put a court on the "public" plaza.
“We actually hosted our first week long summer camp specifically for girls at the Barclays Center this past year,” she said. “It was the first year we’ve done it since we’ve been in Brooklyn.”
It bolsters the argument that, with a second professional team seeing its value boom, New York State should ask the arena operator, owned by the Tsais, for some compensation.
Changing scene
So much for the quote from the Aug. 8 Indypendent, in The WNBA is Experiencing a Surge in Popularity… but Does its Fanbase Want It?: "It remains to be seen if the league will go the way of a hip, low-rent neighborhood that becomes gentrified and loses the qualities that made it special."
By now, it doesn't. And that means, as the organizer of the spreadsheet stated, "The @nyliberty games being affordable for the community near Barclays has been the only good thing about the arena. As someone who fought against Atlantic Yards many years ago it’s not lost on me that BSE is finally pushing out the fans who are non-white, queer, disabled, non-men."
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