New Sixers owners vow to slash many ticket prices at least 50 percent
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New Sixers owners vow to slash many ticket prices at least 50 percent
The new Sixers owners were introduced at the Palestra today, using the phrase “world class and cutting edge” to describe their approach.
And they wasted little time in putting their plan in motion, announcing a “50 percent or more” cut in single-game ticket prices for just under 9,000 seats at the Wells Fargo Center. The team will also announced a new marketing slogan and unveiled plans to solicit direct fan suggestions and comments via the Internet.
The ownership group includes four native Philadelphians and six graduates of Penn, including the majority owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer.
The new group took control of the team last night at 11:59 p.m., ending a lengthy process of negotiation and approval. The sides agreed to a deal believed to be worth $330 million for the team in July. The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale late last week, leading to today’s announcement.
“I am going to be a great fan,” Harris said. “I’m going to be excited when we win and upset when we lose. We are going to try to be rational about how we run the team. It’s pretty simple. We want to be world class and cutting edge up and down the organization in everything we do. We want to reflect well on us, be positive in the community. On the court, off the court.
“In some ways, the fact that the deal took a little bit of time allowed us to get ahead. You’ll be seeing over the coming days that we are going to try to improve how we work as a team and work in the Philadelphia community.”
As founder of Apolo Global Management, Harris has made his fortune, estimated at $1.5 billion in distressed properties, although he winced at the notion that the Sixers would be described as distressed. He said the key for the business plan, and something he has had success with in other fields, is to separate one asset from what he termed a “broader package of assets.” The Sixers will be a tenant at the Wells Fargo Center and have a broadcast agreement with Comcast SportsNet.
“When we have done that in the past, with other business, that singular focus and bringing everyone together breathes new life into a lot of situations,” he said. “In many cases, the businesses we have owned clearly don’t have as much as media attention as the Sixers do. That is something we are going to have to get used to. We are going into this with eyes wide open and willing to accept that. Another difference is the talent side of the business in terms of having the people that are very high profile that also are very well compensated and also make news being part of the situation. A lot of times we buy boring businesses that you have never heard of.
“Clearly, I am not doing this for Apollo, doing this for me personally. This reflects personally on me, I am going to live and breathe this, come down to the games, be involved in the city of Philadelphia. I come down to Penn periodically. This will give me a chance to reinvigorate my relationships.”
Harris was asked how he could turn around a franchise that has largely lost money since its run to the NBA Finals in 2001.
“We’re lucky enough to buy the third most winning franchise in basketball history,” he said. “We are getting a storied franchise at a time where we were able to get what we think is an appropriate deal for the team. We think we are able to participate in breathing new life in to the team.
“The team has been less connected with its fans and as a result was not generating revenue and selling tickets as we think we can do. It wasn’t realizing its potential. There are lots of things we can do by improving the financial situation of the team connecting with fans, making it a great experience. We have to win. We have a team and executives very capable of doing that … This is a really exciting business opportunity in addition to being exciting to be part of a storied team.”
Harris said he will remain New York, but “you can expect to see my smiling face at many of the games. All of the owners will be down here with me, working on the team. They are doing it because they want to be involved in this. This is not just a financial investment. This is going to be my night job, if you will.”
The new owners made four announcements:
* Ticket prices for individual game tickets on just under 9,000 seats at the Wells Fargo Center will be cut by 50 percent or more for every single game. “This is not a sale or promotion,” Aron said. “These are our new ticket prices. Period. Full stop.” He added, “Simply stated, price will not be an obstacle in preventing Philadelphia sports fans from enjoying NBA basketball in person. On game nights, come to our arena, guys and girls. Bring your friends; parents bring your kids. Our house is now your house.” Aron said the team is not planning to cut prices for season ticketholders. “Our current season ticketholders already enjoy some significant price discounts off the price of their tickets,” he said. “The current season ticketholders are doing extremely well.” He said the intention of the price cuts is to marry ticket prices to demand.
* The team will take out full-page advertisements in the Daily News and Inquirer tomorrow that it is calling an open letter to Philadelphia sports fans. “In it we will state our philosophy about leading the Sixers, a manifesto of sorts,” Aron said. He said the team would solicit fan suggestions and comments via www.newsixersowner.com. He said he would personally read all the suggestions. The 1,776 comments deemed to be the best would receive a free ticket to a Sixers game. “Being the new kids on the block, we intend to truly listen to our fans,” Aron said.
* The team announced a new marketing slogan. “Philadelphia 76ers: Passionate, Intense, Proud.” “These words have been swirling around the Sixers for decades. We think they perfectly encapsulate what Philadelphia sports fans and Sixers are all about. It truly defines our brand.
* Aron also talked about plans to improve the fan experience. He said the team will announce a “series of specific announcements of exactly how we will be enhancing and improving what our fans will enjoy when they enjoy Sixers games in person. We can’t wait to rise to the challenge.” We will not be selling the 76ers on the basis of price. We will work tirelessly every waking moment to offer Philaldelphians, exciting, winning basketball. We intend to literally transform the Sixers fan experience on game nights at the Wells Fargo Center.”
Why couldn't comcast cut the pricing? Ed, are you listening?— STEVE5444- Good news on the ticket prices! This team plays hard and is fun to watch. Doug Collins has done an amazing job. Holliday and Young are definite keepers and Evan Turner began to show flashes at the end of the season. Hopefully, Turner will prove worthy of the #2 pick. Throughout his career, his learning/adjustment curve has been steep with each change of scenery, but eventually he has achieved success at each level. Brand was a workhorse and probably a tremendous influence/example on the young team. Igoudala was fitting in well towards the end of the season, playing good D and doing the little things. He is way overpaid for that role, however, so I would not be averse to trading him. We still need a true center, but aAll in all, it looks like we have the makings of a good team. It also looks like the new ownership "gets it".— Chainsaw
- The guy seems interesting and committed, which is good. Great PR move cutting ticket prices, een though theya re probably upper deck seats.
The thing about our basketball here in philly is that we all think we're such gret fans but we are decidely not. I am old enough to remember an Eastern Conference game 7 on easter day against the larry Bird led Boston celtics - we had the doc. 7 thousand maybe in the seats. Tha's this guys problem, we're all posers!— Owatagoofiam - Big Shot was the worse mascot ever keep him buried 6 feet below
what they need to do is at half time have fans come down and make shots to get paid, like they did back in the Doctor J days, for a
mascot bring in all of them clowns to make it entertainment like the
Philly Fanatic— douglasrdd 
start with the unis///preferably going back to the doctor j era unis and not the cyo knockoffs that they wear now.- It looks pretty smart really. You can't control in the short run how many games the franchise wins but you do control the price of tickets. What they're trying to do is enlarge the regular fan base. They don't need people who will buy a $150 ticket here or there for a playoff bound team; they need people who will see 20 or 30 games a year whether the Sixers are championship contenders or not. They need FANS. They need the venue full at whatever price they need to fill it. And they're absolutely right the price of tickets stands in the way of people becoming FANS. NBA is not going to survive as a sport for wealthy people -- there are not that many courtside seats.— tomB
- Bring back Big Shot, make him muscular and athletic, and lose the rabbit.— MrBigDizzle
- Looks like they are off to a good start. I would now actually consider bringing my son to a game. Hopefully after this strike is resolved the players and owners will be brought back to earth and realize the NBA is not the center of the universe. I hardly hear any complaining that the NBA is on strike. The whole thug mentality needs to stop. These players are millionaires, not street gangs. Get it together NBA...the fans are watching (generally).— Sane1
- The owners whould have a Millionaire's Night. Anyone who works for a big bank or brokerage company gets free tickets and everyone else has to pay double. That'll give the Occupiers something to cry about.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- suckers.— Tyrone Biggums
- I am thrilled to hear the ticket prices are coming down. My young sons love basketball, but on my salary I can afford to take them. Having a chance to get lower bowl seats for me and my 6 year old is very exciting. Now just get us Monta and we are good.— eaglessuperfan
- How come our new owners are holding Shawn Bradley jerseys?— Setdawgy
- Simple solution: take a look at the Flyers team photos on the wall at the Wells Fargo Center, now look at the photos on the Sixers wall. If you can make the ones on the right look more like the ones on the left you're on the right track.— Valjean24601
- I am thrilled to have owners that seem to want to succeed and win the way Mark Cuban wanted to win in Dallas and Ed Snyder wants (The Flyers)to win. Lets hope they follow through with this pledge, but its an awfully good start in my book!!— Zee77
- Lower prices? What? Now I've seen everything...— Grazman
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
