New Orleans Hornets Exceed 9,000 Full Season Tickets
Sometime over the course of the next couple days . . . Thursday by my scribbled calculations, but the day or time doesn’t matter an iota . . . the New Orleans Hornets will have sold their 9,000th full season ticket for the 2011-2012 season.
I don’t have any inside info on this, as its pending. Mathematics has its privileges.
There will be an event to mark this “rounding of third”
(to borrow a phrase from another sport) a bit after the mark is hit. Just as there is nothing magic in the moment, 9,000 is just as arbitrary a number as 10,000 as a ticket goal, just slightly moreso as it’s smaller. I nevertheless applaud the identification of an opportunity to throw a party.
After the party, the sales efforts will continue until they no longer bear fruit. Why not? The LSED paid for a good bit of the parties, if not all. I’m guessing that the impressive results to this point would justify further outlays from the LSED; in fact, and I’d be all for that. They already have enough events schedule to carry them past the 100 mark, in fact.
Let’s just take a few minutes to take in this soon-to-be-accomplished-ment and consider what it says about meeting the goal of 10,000 full season tickets.
Consider that the Hornets sold around 1,800 full season tickets between some point in the season and the beginning of June. Since then, they’ve sold 900 season tickets, and there’s no sign of the pace abating. Whatever they are doing, it’s working and they can keep it up for a while. What they are doing is throwing I’m In events.
Consider that each “full”
(that’s what I’m told the cool kids say) sold, in theory, is harder to sell than the one before, as the lowest-hanging-fruit is plucked at each step. This is of course not strictly true ticket-to-ticket, but over the course of 1,000+ tickets, it is. These reps work hard. Thank them. In fact, call 504-525-4667 and thank them to their bosses . . . you’ll have to ask to speak to them, but the reps will be happy to transfer you.
Consider that for the last 2+ months of the 3+ month campaign, the NBPA has been locked out. As a result, the Hornets can not use their greatest asset in normal times: players. In fact, as the Hornets have one of the best in the game both on and off the court, this even is even bigger hindrance for us. Beyond that, that the season is in danger of not tipping off on time or ever.
Consider that the two anchor players of the franchise are either not under contract or constantly being connected to other teams in future seasons.
Consider that the team is owned by the NBA, with no local owner and no long-term lease.
Consider that financial pressures are causing other teams to lay off emplyees and the Hornets are hiring people to help keep staffed up.
At their current rate, the Hornets will hit the 10,000 mark around the New Year. Again, this is not a magic number. It’s not a benchmark. It doesn’t `do’ anything. It means little going forward if it’s `manufactured’ out of a fear of losing the team that will subside after the crisis has passed. The Hornets will have to deliver, will have to `hook’ those season ticket holders once they are given the opportunity. They will also have to convince an owner the support is real, is sustainable, and is lasting.
The 9,000 fulls should be a message, and the 10,000 fulls should be a louder one: We want an NBA team here. We want our NBA team. We’ll meet your terms. We will do what it takes, just let us have it, and let it be ours.
Ours.
New Orleans’ team and the New Orleanians’ team.
Keep the benchmarks; we don’t need them. Keep the swipes at our city and our people; we’ve had more than the quantity that hospitality requires us to endure. Treat us like family, not as bunkmates at summercamp, ok, St-Ernest? Knowhutimean?
You won’t be disappointed.
See you in 1,000 tickets . . . 999, I mean . . .
