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I thought this was worth a discussion: http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance

Amazing how 5 playoff teams actually finished below the Bobcats (76ers, Hornets, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Hawks). On top of that, we're (I think) the lowest scoring team in the NBA and one of the most boring to watch. The most surprising to me has got to be Cleveland though at #3. Maybe it's because of all of the season tickets they already had sold from when Lebron is there so we will likely see that taper off.

I guess this is a good sign for the Bobcats though, 21st with a bad team I think shows signs there is genuine growing support for this franchise. If we had a top 4 team in the east, it'd be interesting to see where attendance goes. Even if we did nothing but land CP3 this off-season, that alone would probably have a big enough impact to bring us up another few notches.

Of course if there is a lockout, that could destroy everything. I feel like the last lockout is really what put the nail in the coffin of the last NBA franchise in Charlotte.

I think that for a team which supposedly has such low drawing power and is always mentioned when some a$$ writes a story on contraction, that these numbers will surprise many. It shows a pretty loyal fanbase. And if we can continue to turn the corner and become a legitimate Playoff team, the fans will start coming a lot more.

As much as this says about the organization, it says a lot more about the fans. Good for them. Keep it up and lets move that number up into the top half of the league.

I'm not surprised. The successful Hornets teams had one of the highest (if not the highest) attendance ratings year to year for a long time. The new stadium helps because it is much easier to get out of Time Warner than the old Coliseum.

The Hornets now have one of the worst attendances and the NBA brass expects a new owner to keep the team in New Orleans.

I can understand Atlanta's poor rating. Phillips is stuck between the Georgia Dome, CNN, MLK, and several government buildings. That's a poor location.

Good find Rich.

Like you said, the fact that we have a better attendance rating than 5 current playoff teams and we have added more sponsors to our suite with a higher renewal rate that any other team in the NBA I think it's about time that those clowns over at ESPN stop jawing on about to possible contraction and about us supposedly having the bleakest future of all 30 NBA teams.

Rich4114 wrote:Of course if there is a lockout, that could destroy everything. I feel like the last lockout is really what put the nail in the coffin of the last NBA franchise in Charlotte.

I'm wondering if it might actually work the other way? There is still a lot of residual resentment left over from the Top Bob era and the amount of wrongs that he made. Maybe giving the city of Charlotte a little time to cleanse themselves of that and starting new might be a good thing? Give the locals a little break from NBA basketball and then when they lift the lockout, maybe they will appreciate the Bobcats and what MJ is trying to do a little more?

Charlotteans are still bitter that Birds group didn't get awarded the franchise. They are also still sour about the funding for TWC Arena. However, this can be remedied by big time players. If we get some really good star players or draft one you will see a huge bump in attendance. Not really rocket science here. I think they are on the right track though. Especially with the $10 tickets

Badd_Intentions wrote:Charlotteans are still bitter that Birds group didn't get awarded the franchise. They are also still sour about the funding for TWC Arena. However, this can be remedied by big time players. If we get some really good star players or draft one you will see a huge bump in attendance. Not really rocket science here. I think they are on the right track though. Especially with the $10 tickets

Lowering concession prices would be a start.

It's ridiculous that I spent the same amount at Cracker Barrel (three people) that I spent on a few drinks, one popcorn container, and one funnel cake. That and for a new stadium, TWC has some kind of bi-polar bathroom design (lots of stalls in one bathroom, few stalls in other bathroom, not enough in either bathroom).

BigSlam wrote:Good find Rich.

Like you said, the fact that we have a better attendance rating than 5 current playoff teams and we have added more sponsors to our suite with a higher renewal rate that any other team in the NBA I think it's about time that those clowns over at ESPN stop jawing on about to possible contraction and about us supposedly having the bleakest future of all 30 NBA teams.

Rich4114 wrote:Of course if there is a lockout, that could destroy everything. I feel like the last lockout is really what put the nail in the coffin of the last NBA franchise in Charlotte.

I'm wondering if it might actually work the other way? There is still a lot of residual resentment left over from the Top Bob era and the amount of wrongs that he made. Maybe giving the city of Charlotte a little time to cleanse themselves of that and starting new might be a good thing? Give the locals a little break from NBA basketball and then when they lift the lockout, maybe they will appreciate the Bobcats and what MJ is trying to do a little more?

I'd like to think that was the case, but usually when there is a lockout in all sports fan support overall drops and takes a while to build back up. I've only really paid attention to the last MLB strike, the last NBA strike, and this current NFL one. I think the NFL one will go pretty much uneffected because its so much more popular than the other pro sports in this country, but the NBA like the NHL have the most to lose as a result of a lock out. I hope they find a way to work it out before July 1st so we don't have to wonder about this at all.

Rich4114 wrote:

BigSlam wrote:Good find Rich.

Like you said, the fact that we have a better attendance rating than 5 current playoff teams and we have added more sponsors to our suite with a higher renewal rate that any other team in the NBA I think it's about time that those clowns over at ESPN stop jawing on about to possible contraction and about us supposedly having the bleakest future of all 30 NBA teams.

Rich4114 wrote:Of course if there is a lockout, that could destroy everything. I feel like the last lockout is really what put the nail in the coffin of the last NBA franchise in Charlotte.

I'm wondering if it might actually work the other way? There is still a lot of residual resentment left over from the Top Bob era and the amount of wrongs that he made. Maybe giving the city of Charlotte a little time to cleanse themselves of that and starting new might be a good thing? Give the locals a little break from NBA basketball and then when they lift the lockout, maybe they will appreciate the Bobcats and what MJ is trying to do a little more?

I'd like to think that was the case, but usually when there is a lockout in all sports fan support overall drops and takes a while to build back up. I've only really paid attention to the last MLB strike, the last NBA strike, and this current NFL one. I think the NFL one will go pretty much uneffected because its so much more popular than the other pro sports in this country, but the NBA like the NHL have the most to lose as a result of a lock out. I hope they find a way to work it out before July 1st so we don't have to wonder about this at all.

That would work in our favor. If every team lost fans, the Bobcats would be able to pick up some new fans that had been watching other teams.

^^ wouldn't that only work if we were good though? lol

Would've expected this to be a lot worse. Excellent news.

Related, and not so good news: http://deadspin.com/#!5793605/fewer-peo ... o-to-games

we can thank our woeful tv deal and lack of regional coverage for those tv numbers.

if it counted illegal streams we might have a better number.

it seems to be the only way to watch a bobcat game most of the time.

in other random news, the bobcats lead the league in illegal streams viewed in australia. haha.

Paydro70 wrote:Related, and not so good news: http://deadspin.com/#!5793605/fewer-peo ... o-to-games

Doesn't surprise me one bit. I mean, hell, Raleigh and the Raleigh area can't even watch a Bobcats game on regular cable. What kind of crap is that? Until they fix that issue and allow the entire state of NC and SC to view Bobcats games, we will have a very tough time growing as a franchise! This has to be up close to the top of our "to do" list. If you could expose those people to the Bobcats there is no telling how many more followers and tickets sold we could have...