Sports not Selling in Charlotte »
Nice article in Creative Loafing that I unfortunately can't link to because their spiffy new site doesn't work worth a darn - at least not with any speed.
In a nutshell, our NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats, owned and operated by (wait for it) Bob Johnson, have lost some 2000 season ticket holders since last year. And this upon the news that they are moving into a brand spanking new arena, paid for by the City of Charlotte.
Frankly, I think it's a mistake all the way around. I complained about the arena here on the blog for a while, but not too many people listened. The City certainly didn't, and they built it anyway. Now the team is losing fans - at least those willing to buy a ticket in that shiny new arena.
Between George Shinn's escapades and the City's blunders, I don't think any long-season major league team could survive in Charlotte. Heck, our residents can hardly make it through an entire Panthers game, and there are only 10 of those each year. What in the world makes anyone think that a $40 "cheap" seat is going to hold someone in it for some 40 nights per season?
Maybe it's time we re-examined our priorities. Is it really worth paying these kids out of high school $100 million to run around a basketball court, when an increasing number of us either can't or won't shell out the bucks to do see them do it?
