New York Knicks: Will The Losses Have An Economic Effect?
By Owen Sanborn
Thursday night’s nationally televised drubbing by hand of the Houston Rockets had the TNT crew pleading that the New York Knicks not be shown on primetime for the rest of the season. Boos littered the prestigious air of Madison Square Garden and some guy named Langston Galloway was perhaps the only thing worthy of applause.
The loss was the 14th straight for the Knicks and pushed their record to a horrific 5-34. But we all know how bad they are by now and that they are no longer trying to win basketball games this season.
Despite all of this, New York has somehow managed to stay 4th in the NBA when it comes to attendance, coming in at a cool 19,812 per game according to ESPN.com.
How have they done this? Well for one, residing in the heart of New York City in a historically renowned arena where A-list celebrities flock to watch even crappy basketball is a nice place to start.
This year alone has brought the likes of Taylor Swift, Dustin Hoffman, Edie Falco, John McEnroe, Tom Hanks, Chris Rock, Justin Verlander, Howard Stern, Kate Upton, Cedric the Entertainer and Odell Beckham Jr. into the Garden.
Even the slightest basketball fans will be tempted to go watch a Knick game for the small chance that they will get to witness their favorite entertainer chomping down on a hot dog.
Secondly, New York has shrewdly ventured into business with online discounters such as Groupon and Living Social who are selling tickets for as low as $49 a pop. They are also still finding success in the secondary market with an upcoming game against the Cleveland Cavaliers going for a whopping $145 resale value.
Of course, this has more to do with LeBron James playing in MSG more than anything.
Now, one will immediately think that resorting to selling tickets through an online discount service for a big market team is slightly embarrassing — and it absolutely is — but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good business move.
Getting butts in the seats is the name of the game for every sports franchise right now due to the explosion of internet streaming and cable television packages (Thank you NBA League Pass, NFL Sunday Ticket and MLB Extra Innings!). It is pretty remarkable that the Knicks have managed to stay relevant in New York even though their record and roster are atrocities.
New York sports fans are extremely loyal, sometimes even to a fault (any Jets fans reading this right now are nodding their heads). It will take something drastic for them to ever stop attending their beloved Knicks’ games.
The Isiah Thomas era as general manager didn’t stop them, the James Dolan ownership era hasn’t stopped them and the Phil Jackson tenure as president hasn’t changed anything. Yet.
The Knicks are still a profitable juggernaut that entered the 2014-15 season with Forbes’ highest NBA team valuation at $1.4 billion. Their revenues are still high from merchandise and in-arena purchases such as concessions.
Sure the television ratings on the MSG Network has understandably dipped by 17 percent this season according to Richard Sandomir and nytimes.com, but that doesn’t mean that the Knicks brand is going down in flames.
Judging by their strikingly high attendance record this season in a fairly large sample size (19 home games), New York’s losing ways will not hinder the business side of things as much as one would think.
It remains to be seen how long Langston Galloway’s heroics will keep fans coming to the Garden, but for now at least, they are remaining loyal. Congratulations Knicks fans, you have earned yourself a celebratory song.
Sing it, Dolan!