I've been a Nets season ticket holder since 1989 (see: my dad has and I have went with him) and I have also been to many Knicks games in my day, and unfortunately, the atmosphere at the Meadowlands is laughable compared to the Garden, or at least pre-2000's Garden. Here is my 5 step program to making the Izod center a more entertaining venue:
1. The court is lit while the crowd is draped in shadow. This helps to create a dramatic dynamic in the arena which is really successful. I also think that this makes the audience feel more anonymous, which allows them to be louder without possibly feeling embarrassed.
2. The Garden is an adult venue, I haven't crunched the numbers on this, but I assure you it is a fair assumption that there are much fewer fans under the age of 18 at the Garden. Ever since I started going to Nets games as a young pup, the goal has always been to provide a family experience. If you want a frenzied crowd, distracted mothers and uninterested children aren't going to provide that kind of hysteria. What you need is drunk men from the ages of 21 to 60, from what I've observed, this age range and state of mind makes for the most passionate conglomeration of fans. Which leads me to my next point.
3. Cheaper beer, allow tailgating. Sports and tailgating are synonymous, but at the Izod center this behavior is outlawed. There are ways around it, but the only people willing to park in the Giants lot and tailgate and then walk to the arena are probably under 21. However, the beer inside the arena is $8.00 a piece, and while this is ok for a successful franchise like the Yankees (who also strategically allows tailgating) it is causing a lot frustration for us impoverished college students who like beer with our basketball. If you lower the price of beer by $4.00 conservatively you could sell twice as much with the added attendance.
4. Cheaper tickets. The Nest often complain about fledgling ticket sales, however while the Nets are I think 21st in the league in ticket sales, they are also 4th or 5th in ticket revenue. The cheapest ticket you could get for the Dallas game was $15.00, which isn't ok. This is such a simple and profitable fix that I think I can just leave it at that.
5. Target our age range. No more kiddie nights, no more ladies nights, lets have some dood's and bro's nights. This means drink deals, ticket deals and food deals, things of that nature. The Nets have a real opportunity to access the college student population of New Jersey, before this generation everyone was a knicks fan, now the door is open on a young enthusiastic following and they are simply not capitalizing.
So that’s my theory on how to make not only a more profitable Izod Center, but a louder, drunker and more enthusiastic Izod Center. Thoughts? Comments?
1. The court is lit while the crowd is draped in shadow. This helps to create a dramatic dynamic in the arena which is really successful. I also think that this makes the audience feel more anonymous, which allows them to be louder without possibly feeling embarrassed.
2. The Garden is an adult venue, I haven't crunched the numbers on this, but I assure you it is a fair assumption that there are much fewer fans under the age of 18 at the Garden. Ever since I started going to Nets games as a young pup, the goal has always been to provide a family experience. If you want a frenzied crowd, distracted mothers and uninterested children aren't going to provide that kind of hysteria. What you need is drunk men from the ages of 21 to 60, from what I've observed, this age range and state of mind makes for the most passionate conglomeration of fans. Which leads me to my next point.
3. Cheaper beer, allow tailgating. Sports and tailgating are synonymous, but at the Izod center this behavior is outlawed. There are ways around it, but the only people willing to park in the Giants lot and tailgate and then walk to the arena are probably under 21. However, the beer inside the arena is $8.00 a piece, and while this is ok for a successful franchise like the Yankees (who also strategically allows tailgating) it is causing a lot frustration for us impoverished college students who like beer with our basketball. If you lower the price of beer by $4.00 conservatively you could sell twice as much with the added attendance.
4. Cheaper tickets. The Nest often complain about fledgling ticket sales, however while the Nets are I think 21st in the league in ticket sales, they are also 4th or 5th in ticket revenue. The cheapest ticket you could get for the Dallas game was $15.00, which isn't ok. This is such a simple and profitable fix that I think I can just leave it at that.
5. Target our age range. No more kiddie nights, no more ladies nights, lets have some dood's and bro's nights. This means drink deals, ticket deals and food deals, things of that nature. The Nets have a real opportunity to access the college student population of New Jersey, before this generation everyone was a knicks fan, now the door is open on a young enthusiastic following and they are simply not capitalizing.
So that’s my theory on how to make not only a more profitable Izod Center, but a louder, drunker and more enthusiastic Izod Center. Thoughts? Comments?
