03.11
As an individual season seat holder (read: my passion isn’t paid for by a corporation I work for, but by my own budgeting from a mid-level pay), I enjoy taking family and friends to games. I’ve introduced many non-basketball fans to the sport since the first tip at SkyDome. The majority have come back on their own, some even buying season tickets for themselves. In that sense, I have been the ideal fanatic, in that I have spread the Raptor love to those that otherwise might never know what that Purple Fever felt like.
Not surprisingly, the most popular games are always the Lakers, Dallas, Miami, San Antonio, Detroit and, in recent years, Cleveland, New Jersey and Orlando/Houston (TMac territory). My seats are great, being 8 rows up off the floor, I am surrounded by intelligent hoop fans that know the names of the scrubs on visiting teams, and I have the best in-seat server in the history of the NBA. A fine night out where the hassles and dredge of every day life go away for 2 and 1/2 hours.
What IS surprising though is that, except for Miami, I could see my favourite NBA team from the same seating location for cheaper in all the above cities.
The face value of my ticket is $150. Granted, I pay less as a season ticket holder, but to be fair, so do season seat holders in other markets. I have used the single game price as a comparison in this piece. Also, it should be noted, that for the past 2 seasons the Raptors have used “premium” prices on certain nights so my $150 ticket is now $170, for example. Some other NBA teams also do this, but it is not predominant. Also, obviously the US locations are using US$, but with the dollar about equal now, all is fair.
If I wanted to see Kobe in LA every night, I’d be paying $140. Roughly a savings of $400 per seat.
San Antonio, a team of great success lately? $110.
Orlando? A paltry $45.
Heck, even New York comes in at $114.50 and look at their salary cap issues and they play in the world’s most famous arena!
In fact, only 3 cities charge more in my seating area:
Miami: $245
Indiana: $170
Minnesota $200
Miami is understandable, given the market. Indiana is Hoops Country, but also noteworthy are their half empty arenas right now (granted, for different reasons). Minnesota? Can’t figure that out.
After receiving word of the increases for next year, an incredible 10%, making it 20% over 2 years, I received some phone calls and emails from fellow seat holders who are outraged and have already torn up their renewals. After all, we are talking about a team that is barely above .500 in an extremely weak conference, has only won one playoff round, and has more holes than a cruise ship has windows. I cannot help but think that MLSE has taken on the Maple Leaf belief that “fans will pay to see them play.” I really don’t see that happening with the Raptors given their lack of success.
I have missed one game since that first tip. One. I showed up during those horrible years and never left a game early. I have booked my vacations around the home schedule for years. I’ve travelled to see this team play on the road once every season. This year I committed more than $12,000 of my salary to tickets.
What have I received in return?
-Dwindling contact from the Raptors organization. They used to call us in for face to face group meetings asking how satisfied we were, what needed improvement. Now all we get is an automated on-line survey and a once-a-year meet & greet with 1,000 seat holders and one club executive, 2 if you are lucky, an hour before tip.
- ever depleting quality of in-game entertainment. The halftime shows, the anthem singers, the videos, the mascot, all of them combined to make it the best night out in town. Now, you see the dancers 2-3 times maximum,you have DJs you can barely understand, you have a crew of teenagers running around yelling “defence” while banging thundersticks, and possibly the worst intro video/music in the history of the team. We were happy with the addition of the drummers, thinking they might add a bit of college vibe to the game, but they stick them up at the ROOF! Thank God for the Raptor.
- lack of solid direction. In the Grunwald era, he would come out, address our weaknesses and work at improving them. Did they always work? No. But as season seat holders, we felt part of that. It at least appeared he was listening to us. While here, Colangelo has shipped off someone he referred to as a key to the success of the franchise (Charlie V.) and last year scoffed at the idea during the meet & greet that we needed rebounding help, saying he’d prefer to add scoring. Look where that got us.
If nothing else, the old excuse of the Canadian dollar being weak and needing to charge us more to offset this has gone the way of the, achem, dinosaur. If any year was ripe for no increase, or a small one, it is this one. I won’t even mention the reduction in the GST….but I do wonder where my refund cheque is for this year.
I seriously now have to question the direction of management, both on the floor and off. If MLSE is looking at this as purely a money making machine, fine, come out and say it. If, however, you are looking to use this franchise as a seed, as a starting point of growing this product and game in Canada, then you need to seriously consider not pricing yourself out of the market.
It pains me to say that once I receive my renewal, I too will be ripping it up. It’s the end of an era for me. I will continue to support this team, but I’ll be doing so from the comfort of my home.
Opening day of 2008/2009 will be only the second time that my butt won’t be in a seat at the ACC for a Raptors game.
Hell, maybe I’ll use the $300 I would have spent on tickets, the $50 I would have spent on food and beverage, and have all the other people in my section over for a nice spread.
Hope we see some better D on the HiDef TV I’ll be buying with my savings from not renewing.
For your perusal, here are the prices of tickets comparable to mine at ACC, which are baseline primes:
Atlanta $115
Boston $85
Charlotte $85
Chicago $130
Cleveland $62
Dallas $114
Denver $72
Detroit $110
Golden State $90
Houston $100
Indiana $170
Clippers $125
Lakers $140
Memphis $82
Miami $245
Milwaukee $101
Minnesota $200
New Jersey $101
New Orleans $50
New York $114.50
Orlando $45
Philadelphia $110
Phoenix $131.75
Portland $110
Sacramento $140
San Antonio $110
Seattle $58
Toronto $150
Utah $105
Washington $98
That’s too bad, although at least you’ve had the experience of sitting where you did. Short of winning the lottery, seasons seats will never be part of my Raptors experience.
And that’s my point, Ellie. Raising seat prices by 3 or 4 times the cost of living every year will just make it a sport being played in front of corporate employees. That quiet sound you hear at Leaf games will become part of the Raptor landscape and that true passion you see and hear from the past is slowly eroding away.
Sad.
Scott’s last blog post..Paying The Price
Agreed.
Good for you, Scott. Based on everything you have told me over the past two years, I wouldn’t renew either. I also echo your statements on your server, and the Raptor.
Come July, I will finally get cable. You’re welcome at my house any time, all the beer you can drink. We’re probably overdue for a bar visit too, let me know if you’re game.
Spudz
Spudz’s last blog post..Lolita | Vladimir Nabokov
I have been a forthright critic of MLSE, in a variety of different on-line locations, over the last several years, repeatedly indicating that the ‘real’ goal of this organization … at least, on the basketball side of things … is NOT to eventually win an NBA championship for the Toronto Raptors … but, rather, just to: (i) Win their fare share of regular season games; (ii) Consistently qualify for the playoffs; and, (iii) Make as much $$$ as possible for their owners.
In part, evidence for this opinion can be observed directly in the hiring and the subsequent work of current team President/GM, Bryan Colangelo … who represents the ‘financial interests’ of this ownership group … under the guise of being a terrific ‘NBA Executive’ who knows how to build a championship calibre team … when, in fact, this is not the situation, at all.
Mr. Colangelo’s history as an NBA executive indicates that he is an ‘expert’ at accomplishing the three objectives outlined above … but that he also has very little, if any, tangible experience when it comes to building a championship basketball team, at any level of competition.
When ticket prices go up and services go down; when trades & FA signings happen but the W-L record remains essentially the same; when inexperienced and (relatively speaking) low-paid coaches are retained, as the team’s on-court short-comings go unchanged; when expensive FA’s are traded away, in exchange for ‘under-the-radar’ younger players with ‘potential’ for future stardom, or draft picks, or, simply allowed to walk away; etc. … upset season-ticket-holders should direct their complaints to the proper person … who is responsible for the basketball side of MLSE, and how it conducts its business, on & off the court.
A 20% cost increase in two years?
Something is rotten in the State of Denmark.
khandor’s last blog post..THE Voice of the Houston Rockets
A great post. I can only hope that more people read it.
MLSE is 100% focused on maximizing profits. They are legally obliged to do so for their shareholders. Championships does not figure into this equation. As a lifelong Leafs fan I totally gave up on them for this reason. Everytime I see someone with a Leafs or Raptors jersey I just think…sucker. I wish more “fans” would vote with their dollars….good on you Scott.
MLSE saw what happened when the Jays finally won it all…followed by championship hangover and empty seats. That’s their biggest fear, so they purposely try not to win it all. Get one star (Sundin, Gilmour, Bosh, Carter) and some feel-good excitement (Clarke, Domi, Tucker, TJ) and know the seats will be filled with suits.
So sad. Makes me puke that I can’t cheer for my hometown teams.
So $45 in Orlando puts him in the light blue section right behind the hoop.
In row 8:
In Indy, that’s $77 (there’s one section on the arena map that isn’t correct, check the other 4 equivalent sections) .
When they set Raptors prices back in the day, the CAD was about .7 to USD. It’s now .95. Initially that wouldn’t seem to affect this blogger, but it does make sense that the other NBA arenas would be cheaper now since Raptors prices were inflated from the start due to their currency. As NBA prices have increased so has yours, but with the inflation rate, your tickets are now ridiculously expensive (I was up there in November for a couple of games, prices are almost as bad as Phoenix, where I paid $57.50/seat to sit in the top row of the upper deck).
Since the salaries for players and most personnel are USD (along with franchise fees and other expenses payable to the league), they needed to re-coup more CAD to pay expenses. For example, a USD100 seat would have to be about CAD140 to pull in the same net value.
Just want to show support for your situation. One of the great things in a sports fan’s life is the ability to own season tickets for their favorite team. I’m sorry that has been ruined for you, and that you don’t feel that you are getting value for your (Canadian) dollar.
Andy,
All valid points…in the past.
Again, given the current strong state of the dollar, this would have been a good year to throw both Leaf and Raptor season ticket holders a bone and say we will either not increase or increase only equivalent to the cost of living.
With respect to player salaries, the team is 24th in the league (according to HoopsHype) at $62mil. Dallas at $105mil charges $40 less per ticket. Then, on the Raptors side of the ledger, you still factor in that they own their own building, part of the concessions in the building, their own television network, etc etc.
Back when the dollar was really bad, I was paying $90 for my seat. Now, $150. That is just during their ACC tenancy. If they wanted to use the dollar as an argument, they missed the boat.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – March 12
I don’t think Toronto has a monopoly on crappy in-game experiences. The Nets have a horrible in game experience and I’m beginning to wonder if this isn’t a problem in all arenas. Noise makers and pop music performances are in and stats, highlights, and little kids basketball games at halftime are out. It’s sad.
last time i checked laker tickets row 8 were running 230 face value
Lakerfan,
The seats in question which are comparable to my seats in Toronto would be in Section 115 at Staples. $140 according to their website.
http://www.nba.com/lakers/tickets/arena_map.html
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – March 12
While your concerns about pricing and intermission entertainment are fair, using the Charlie Villanueva trade and Bryan Colangelo’s roster management strategies versus Glen Grunwald’s as arguments of regression in team performance is illogical. Getting TJ Ford for Charlie V was a major coup. Villanueva is floundering in Milwaukee while Ford has been a quality point guard for the Raps. And Bryan Colangelo’s body of work so far in terms of team success puts the Grunwald years to shame, and even with the recent success, the Raptors team remains on an upward arc to boot.
It’s fair to argue that the product off the court is inferior to previous years, but the product on the court is far superior. You do not help your case at all by citing it. In fact, you weaken it.
Charlie’s primarily a bust in Milwaukee because they gave his job to a rookie that was overmatched and unable to hold it. That injury Yi had? It’s a little tool coaches use when they want to take away someone’s job without really taking away someone’s job. The back-up gets an opportunity, the ex-starter gets to save face, and the coach gets to cover his ass in case it doesn’t work out.
Re: this post, Scott, I can’t say I blame you.
Costa,
I appreciate your view and know you aren’t alone. It’s ones opinion. I’m sure you were and are aware of the should we have/shouldn’t we have argument around the trade at the time. It was a big risk and, you are correct, so far it’s worked out.
But as was linked to by comments in another article (http://www.altraps.com/2008/02/19/a-current-look-at-mediocrity/#comments), coming out and saying that someone is a great part of the nucleus of your vision and is a rebounder that helped address your needs at the time (never mind now), then trading him away left a bad taste is some mouths.
I’m not sure this team is still on an upward arc, but as a supporter, I hope they are. Genuinely. They overachieved last year, playing many teams in the second half that were resting players and I believe this years results are much more indicative of where this team stands. Above average, but not by much.
Khandor’s points above are well written and with merit. In that vein, I’d love to see a major change: I’d love to see what would happen if, as in the Thomas/Grunwald tandem just in reverse, Maurizio became GM and Bryan President. Bryan has stated he feels Maurizio will be wooed by someone else, so why let him get away?
Embry and the draft lottery gave Bryan a basically clean slate. Almost two seasons later we still have a team that is doubtful to make it out of the first round according to many, and MLSE has seen its coffers expand via raising ticket prices and enough sponsorship in the building to make one feel they are in an ad themselves. Is there really a need for a Tim Horton’s logo in the corner of the picture on the scoreboard at ACC?
If I wanted to be pounded by ads and Leaf/Marlie highlights, I’d stay at home.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – March 12
Great comments. I have found the whole Raptor experience to be a waste of money for years. The entertainment is not what it used to be and the noise in the arena does not even allow for a decent conversation with the person beside you at any point in the game. The arena is mind numbingly loud for the whole 2.5 hours. Here is what I would suggest to you: for the price of a single ticket, for a single game, you can get a whole season of NBA and college games on TV. I prefer the latter as watching Raptor games on TV amounts to a 2.5 hour advertisement for the team instead of an analysis of the game. In your analysis you forgot to mention that a number of Colangelo’s decisions are made based on bringing in a player of a prevalent ethnic nationality in Toronto, as opposed to filling a glaring hole in the team (ie rebounding).
Paul,
I swallowed that pill as well. I religiously watch RaptorsTV and have noticed, sadly, the decline in the quality of their in-house programming. Always a fan of Full Court Press, I despise the new format. Floor Level is now just a highlight show. I still watch Raptors Today since they at least talk about Raptor ball unlike most televised media and I watch the post game just to watch the press conferences and interviews. The rest of the talking head stuff I can do without.
Love the NBDL and TNT stuff they show as well. My dollars will remain with the station in hopes they can get some of quality in-house stuff they had before.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – March 12
Very heartfelt post I must say, I had no idea about the seating prices being like that. I’m as hardcore as Raptors fans come, and I applaud you for actually taking a stance . The only part I don’t agree with is what you said about Brian Colangelo; it was a gift that he chose to come here. Yeah, I was heart-broken when he traded Charlie too but it was a good move and players get traded all the time regardless if they’re told to be a ‘key part of the team.’ Mind you, TJ Ford pisses me off a LOT. I hate MLSE too and I think they deserve more blame, not Colangelo. How he’s turned our team around in just a year is absolutely stunning and his track record speaks for itself. But I understand your frustration from the season-seat point of view.
Shay’s last blog post..Hollinger: “The Raptors aren’t beating people, they’re killing them.”
Good points – do me a favour and contact me via e-mail as I’d like to discuss my seat location
Excellent post. I applaud your stance.
Yesterday’s Toronto Sun quoted me as a disgruntled fan who will not be renewing his season tickets after 13 seasons. Since the article ran I have received a ton of support from unhappy fans who are tired of getting screwed by MLSE.
The Raptors begged me to stick with them through the lean years and I did. Now the thanks I get is to pay a ticket price that far exceeds what those in other NBA cities pay.
Even in the early days of the ACC, I felt like a special part of the Raptor family. Today, I’m just another number in MLSE’s money wheel.
Well, that’s it. I quit. I will not pay $12,984 in 08-09. Games are looking very good on my new 50″ HDTV.
When I first got hooked on the Raps they provided affordable entertainment. Not anymore. The way MLSE is going, their plan is to double ticket prices every decade.
Scott,
This is my first time visiting this site, but I got an idea for you. If you’ve become sick of the piss-poor job that Raptors broadcasting crew is doing, you might want to invest in an FTA satellite receiver. This way, you can watch all the games on NBA league pass from the opponents announcers perspective.
OR you can just pay the exoberant $ that Rogers is charging for NBA League pass, the ball’s in your court.
This is actually the first year that I’ve made it to see the Raps, since the costs have always been relatively high for the product that their putting on the floor. I enjoyed the game, but, like you, would rather spend my money buying a nice TV – HD Cable – and having some money left over.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, soon the bubble is going to burst with MLSE like it has with the Leafs. And while the Leafs may not be losing money… they are really, really, embarrassing.
Lets hope that doesn’t happen to the Raps.
Rob’s last blog post..Wednesday Bullets: TV, Movies, TV and Rock Band (the songs that should’ve been)!
i thought for sure knicks, bulls, lakers, all had more expensive tickets than the raptors. what an eye opener, good rood alt!
Raps Fan’s last blog post..Raptors vs Warriors – March 12, 2008
I couldn’t agree more! I am a sap that bought both Leaf and Raptors seasons seats a few years ago. I was required to buy 4 raptors seats and 2 leafs seats as a part of the package. In addtion to the seats, I also had to pay for a licence for the seats. Admitedly I have no one to blame but myself. Like you, this is my own money and it is not an insignificant amount, as such I share with some friends. I feel that MLSE knows they can continue to raise prices and generally stick it to us because if I don’t renew, I lose the licence. In hindsight I probably wouldn’t have done it, but now I’m stuck unless I can sell the licence, or walk away. Don’t get me wrong I am a huge fan and hope that both the Raps and the Leafs bring home championships, but I still feel like I’m being greased.
toronto market for sports has and always will be a cash cow for MLSE
40 years of mediocre hockey team and the team still sells out
once the raptors get into that state they’ll just leave it as it is making sure they spend JUST enough to get to the playoffs
the Jays at least are trying to spend (although still spending less than the two powerhouses) problem is that those two powerhouses are in the same division
so ALL in all I’ll be cheering for the Jays once they start showing signs of getting to the playoffs (first professional game I watched live was baseball)
Scott turned me around a great deal on Colangelo. Not only did he start with a clean slate — he also had a borderline franchise player, wherever you may come down in the how-good-is-Bosh debate.
Of the players that he’s acquired, obviously TJ is a huge black eye and I’m not sure how anyone can defend it. Charlie had a lot of cred going into that second season. If someone had a crystal ball to see he’d regress, it wouldn’t have taken a sixth sense to see that a guy with a history of major spinal injuries has, well, major spinal injuries. Charlie had a rep as a guy that loafs. TJ had a rep as a guy that had missed an entire season with a career threatening injury that has unfortunately become a chronic issue.
Nobody could foresee Garbajosa’s injury, and Parker was a good signing but the little deals are not exactly bullet points on a resume (example: Nocioni was a great signing for Paxson and I’m still going to urinate on him in public one day, and Zeke stole Randolph Morris last year which was generally acknowledged as a free lottery pick). It’s not a hard argument to defend, if you were to say that this year was basically treading water.
I’ve been to many Raptors games before this season but this year is the first year as a season ticket holder. Here are my observations:
- in game entertainment has gone downhill from previous years. I realize it may be tough for MLSE but mix it up a little. It’s almost every other game that you see the same “contest”. I mean, how many times have we seen the Dora contest, the Keg contest, the Deal or no Deal contest this year? I’m not saying to come up with 41 different contests but it’s getting out of hand viewing the same things over and over.
- The DJ’s have to go. I have no idea if they add any value to the entertainment aspect.
- The Raptors mascot is different from previous years. Not quite as entertaining.
- I find the “Fan Patrol” very annoying running around, clapping their thundersticks. It’s funny how many “Hulk Hogan ear pose” they’ll do before tossing a $2 shirt.
- The speakers are way too loud.
All in all, I’m still happy I got season tickets this year. It gave me a chance to spend time with my family and friends whom I otherwise might not have the time in my schedule to hang out with. However, with the hike for next year, I’m reluctant to go sign up again. After all, if I wanted to, I can still go to the games by just getting individual tickets and not feel obligated for 45 games. This will probably save me a lot even if I’m paying more per game. In the past few season, the games I will absolutely go to are games against NJ, Houston and the Lakers. Going to games against Milwaukee, Indiana, Sacramento, Atlanta really aren’t crucial for this Raptors fan. For the cost of my renewal ($4194 or 10% increase), I will probably do this instead:
- Go to 10 Raptors games (Upper Bowl Sideline Prime) $1600
- Get a new LCD TV $1800
- Pay $700 for HD Cable for the full year.
I’ll still get my Raptors fix in and at the end of the year, I’ll have a new TV to show for it. With Raptors season tickets, at the end of the year, all you get is the feeling that you’re getting screwed.
Sick of paying huge sums of money for Raptors and Leafs? You can see a Toronto Rock game for a third of the price. You still have to pay high food and beverage prices in the ACC but you can sit lower bowl for $45. Box lacrosse is a great spectator sport and a great way to start out a Saturday night on the town!
Ted, well said. Let me know what TV you are looking at and we can compare notes.
Graham, admittedly I have only been to one lacrosse game due to my schedule, but I loved it. Not only was it exciting, but the players played with passion. It was fantastic to see.
Walter, maybe we should go down to ACC and film ourselves ripping up our renewals. Maybe that would send a message.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – March 13
Scott, I have received messages from many, many season ticket holders who have hit the tipping point. This latest price hike was too much in a time of low inflation, a rising Canadian dollar, a salary cap and the Raptors’ poor performance this season.
You’d think that the Raptors would have the ability to offer a long time loyalty discount to those of us who stood by this team through the lean years?
Like you, I introduced countless new fans to the ACC. I had as many as 6 seats in a given year, of which I gave away most. For all our dedication, MLSE shows no appreciation.
Agreed, Walter.
It is a sad sad day and one I seriously thought I’d ever see. I honestly believed I would be a season seat holder until I died. It was that much fun.
One thing I didn’t touch on is the fact that they give you basically 3 weeks to make up your mind. For most, that means scrambling to ensure credit cards have enough room, chequing accounts have enough funds, etc or you run the risk of losing your seats. Sure, it’s fine for company owned seats, but for folks like you and I, it feels like a “well, make up your mind…quick!!” scenario.
I still remember the one season they took away the payment plan option. Another horrible mistake.
Ah well…. I guess it isn’t as tacky as the renewal packaging this year. That, my friend, is ugly.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – March 13
One thing that I didn’t mention. If they brought in a BIG TIME free agent, I can understand the price hike. But the problem with this is that when the team regresses by losing free agents, etc, we will NEVER see a price drop.
I think everyone can agree that MLSE, Richard Peddie, and co. are corrupt and greedy…. Great points about how unjustified raising the tickets are with respect to the ticket prices of other teams, the value of the dollar, and the lack of team progress.
The Colangelo bashing, however, is totally off base dude. Its surprising that such a long-time and loyal fan would have such a poor memory of how bleak things were pre-BC. Do you think another GM could have manufactured talent like AP, Garbo, Delfino, and Moon out of thin air like he did? Do you think another GM could have converted rift-raft like Hoffa and Eric Williams into quality like Hump and Rasho? Do you think Bosh would’ve re-signed if not for the energy and promise that BC brought to the table?
In a couple years when the raps are fighting for the Eastern championship, you might be missing those well-earned 8th row beauties.
AK47….AP, Garbo, Delfino were as much to do with Maurizio as BC. Same with the Primoz trade. Moon brought some great stuff earlier in the season, but now? He is barely getting off 5 shots a game as a STARTER.
Rasho has been playing amazing basketball lately, but did nothing for us in the playoffs last year (which is why he was brought here, if you listened to the in-season hype) and is eating up $8mil in cap space right now.
I’m a big Hump fan, but even I think the extension he was given was teetering on lunacy. Was BC that scared of having other GMs try and “steal” him away?
I respect your argument, but you still have Juan Dixon, Maceo Baston, Fred Jones, Andrea Bargnani, etc to explain to me.
If you can give me any reason to believe that I should be paying as much as I am for the talent on the floor comparative to any other team in the league, I’d love to hear it. Asking your fans to re-up on a hope and a prayer should have left this franchise years ago, back when we moved from SkyDome to the ACC. From the Vince Carter era onward, we should have had a solid base. For a few years we did. Now we have a team that is too reliant on one player and a GM that, up until now, has refused to acknowledge our weaknesses.
Not the way to garner support from people that pay to see you play.
Well everyone is entitled to their opinion. The article probably would’ve been better separating the comments about the players and GM into a separate piece though. I think there are a number of very valid neutral points raised that should be brought to the attention of the Raptors and MLSE supporting season ticket holder disapproval of the 10% price hike:
* the unfavourable comparison of ticket prices across the league
* lack of recognition for season ticket holders who stayed with the team through the lean years
* failure to pass on the savings from changes to the dollar
* failure to add any extra value or perks for season ticket holders
* lack of significant trades or free agent signings to justify increased expense
* somewhat deteriorating entertainment value
* disappointing team performance
* increasing competition in the toronto sports market (marlies, rock, jays, argos, FC, Bills, etc)
AK47,
You are correct, it is an opinion, and in my opinion the current (mis)management of the franchise goes hand in hand with on-court and in-game performance. Why shouldn’t it? My dollars have gone to support this team since day one and through some tougher times than these, but the current “state of the union” pales in comparison when taking into consideration the rising cost of tickets.
To be told that the rise in ticket prices is because they are running a business and they have to re-sign Jose is folly. Were they not running the same business and trying to attract/re-sign talent in the Babcock or Grunwald days?
Using your points above, 2 of them are directly tied to players/GM, and the remainder (save the competition argument which teeters on a non-issue) are GM/President/Board related.
As pointed out in my post, we the fan used to have a bigger say in how things happened. We would have group meetings, more meet & greets, we had a direct line to management. Now we get cold mass produced league mandated multiple choice/sliding scale “how do you like us” pop quiz and a meet & greet that is full of $ponsor$. Heck, years ago even our season tickets would come in some great well-thought-out package. Now we get tickets with a Chris Bosh AllStar jersey with the price tag still attached. Classy.
Even given my disappointment relating to in-arena enjoyment recently, the bottom line is I’m paying a great chunk of my money for the players on the floor and the guidance of this team toward an NBA championship. Again, I say if I’m paying a significantly higher amount than most of the fans in the NBA, I’d expect a bit more than a .500 ball club.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – March 18
Sounds like a top ten list to me. Top 10 reasons against 10%
1) Almost every team across the league has lower prices
lack of recognition for season ticket holders who stayed with the team through the lean years
2) lack of communication, concern, and responsiveness from management
3) disappointing team performance so far
4) declining entertainment value at the ACC
5) failure to pass on the savings from increased value of the dollar
6) failure to add any extra value or perks for season ticket holders
7) lack of significant trades or free agent signings to justify increased expense
9) increasing competition in the toronto sports market (marlies, rock, jays, argos, FC, Bills, etc)
10) no ticket exchange site like Leafs season ticket holders have
agreed, but #10 is iffy. You are able to forward your tickets or donate to charity via your Raptors account online. So, while there isn’t a particular “exchange site”, it is possible to do.
You get used to that kind of stuff, being a cousin of a hockey team. Plus, in all honesty, I went to every game, so the exchange or donation part of my tickets was never an issue.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – March 18
It’s intriguing to see how different observers view each of the General Managers who have operated the Raptors’ franchise since it started in the NBA … when these are THE FACTS of the matter:
————————————————————————————————————-
Toronto Raptors franchise history
Year Record Finish GM Post-season
COLANGELO Years
‘07-08 34 – 33/.507 2 (20 GB, at present) Bryan Colangelo ???
‘06-07 47 – 35/.573 1 (0 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (1st Rd)
BABCOCK Years
‘05-06 27 – 55/.329 4 (22 GB) Rob Babcock/Wayne Emery/Bryan Colangelo Did Not Qualify
‘04-05 33 – 49/.402 4 (12 GB) Rob Babcock Did Not Qualify
GRUNWALD Years
‘03-04 33 – 49/.402 6 (28 GB) Glen Grunwald Did Not Qualify
‘02-03 24 – 58/.293 7 (26 GB) Glen Grunwald Did Not Qualify
‘01-02 42 – 40/.512 3 (8 GB) Glen Grunwald Made Playoffs (1st Rd)
‘00-01 47 – 35/.573 2 (5 GB) Glen Grunwald Made Playoffs (2nd Rd, EC Semi)
‘99-00 45 – 37/.549 3 (11 GB) Glen Grunwald Made Playoffs (1st Rd)
‘98-99 23 – 27/.460 6 (10 GB) Glen Grunwald Did Not Qualify
THOMAS Years
‘97-98 16 – 66/.195 8 (46 GB) Isiah Thomas/Glen Grunwald Did Not Qualify
‘96-97 30 – 52/.366 8 (39 GB) Isiah Thomas Did Not Qualify
‘95-96 21 – 61/.256 8 (51 GB) Isiah Thomas Did Not Qualify
————————————————————————————————————-
compared to THE FACTS concerning the Phoenix Suns with Bryan Colangelo as their GM:
‘05-06 54 – 28 .659 1 (0 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (3rd Rd, WC Final)
‘04-05 62 – 20 .756 1 (0 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made playoffs (3rd Rd, WC Final)
‘03-04 29 – 53 .354 6 (27 GB) Bryan Colangelo Did Not Qualify
‘02-03 44 – 38 .537 4 (15 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (2nd Rd)
‘01-02 36 – 46 .439 6 (25 GB) Bryan Colangelo Did Not Qualify
‘00-01 51 – 31 .623 3 (5 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (1st Rd)
‘99-00 53 – 29 .646 3 (14 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (2nd Rd)
‘98-99 27 – 23 .540 3 (8 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (1st Rd)
‘97-98 56 – 26 .683 3 (5 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (1st Rd)
‘96-97 40 – 42 .488 4 (17 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (1st Rd)
‘95-96 41 – 41 .500 4 (23 GB) Bryan Colangelo Made Playoffs (1st Rd)
khandor’s last blog post..It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a diagnosed illness
[...] Maledetta inflazione…un abbonamento annuale per i Raptors non è più a buon mercato come una volta! [...]
[...] Those of you that have followed me over the past few years at http://www.altraps.com, and even those that have done so just these past few weeks at RR, know that I think Colangelo has taken this team in the wrong direction. I don’t mean this just from the on-court level either. Since Bryan took over, the in-game entertainment has been getting worse, season ticket holders were paying the FOURTH HIGHEST in the NBA (you could see Kobe in LA for cheaper in most seats), there were many in-house changes in different departments on the basketball side of MLSE, and many season ticket holder perks were taken away or depleted. Personally, I had been a season ticket holder since day one and only missed one home game until the end of last year. I had finally had enough, cancelled my tickets and wrote this. [...]