NBA: Just Say No To Fans’ Names On The Floor
By Phil Watson
The New York Mets sold these commemorative bricks to fans that were placed on walkways outside Citi Field, which opened in 2009. Two NBA teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks, are asking the league for permission to put the names of season-ticket holders on the floors of their arenas this season. (Flickr.com photo/slgckgc)
Street & Smith’s Sports Business reported on Monday that two NBA teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks, are seeking league approval for a plan that would allow them to put the names of season-ticket holders on the floors of their respective arenas.
The teams want to add the name on the floor to the perks that are associated with their membership and fan-loyalty clubs. The details are not final, but the general idea is that—with league approval—the Cavaliers and Bucks would be allowed to place the names of season-ticket holders who are part of those loyalty clubs to be placed on the apron around the floor in Cleveland and near the half-court line on the floor itself in Milwaukee.
Cleveland and Milwaukee, two cities in the ever-shrinking Rust Belt of the U.S., and the Cavaliers and Bucks, respectively, have to look for new and creative ways to increase their revenue base. The idea is similar to what the New York Mets did outside of Citi Field, selling bricks where fans could have their names appear on walkways outside of the stadium.
That’s not the only thing NBA teams will be doing with their floors this season. Earlier this summer, the league allowed teams to sell advertising space on the floor in front of the team benches. But that advertising space, in a high visibility area for maximum television exposure, is one thing. The names of season-ticket holders would be small and not visible on TV cameras.
Pete Guelli, the chief sales and marketing officer of the Charlotte Bobcats, told Street & Smith’s Sports Business that he’s skeptical about the idea.
“There are a lot of ways to acknowledge your season-ticket holders,” Guelli said. “I am not convinced that [putting names on the floor] is a viable way to do it at this point.”
The Bobcats were one of the first teams in the NBA to introduce a year-round benefits program for season-ticket holders, a plan called Cats 365. That program includes more than 60 events per year designed to connect Charlotte season-ticket holders outside of the arenas, including community projects, exclusive events around the city including family-friendly events, business networking and recreational athletics.
This is one of those ideas that might sound good in theory, but it will be sadly lacking in the execution. Unlike the idea of bricks on a walkway, where people can actually see the names as they use the sidewalk, putting names on the floor is somewhat akin to the age-old question of whether a tree that falls in the forest makes a sound if no one is there to hear it.
If your name is on the floor and no one can see it, does it matter if it’s there? Not so much.
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