Knicks have priciest tickets

The average cost of an NBA ticket has risen 3.4 percent for the 2014-15 season, with a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden still carrying the heft-iest price tag in the league.

Team Marketing Report, a Chicago-based company which tracks and publishes sports marketing and sponsorship information, on Friday released its calculations of average ticket prices for the season.

The Knicks lead the way at $129.38 followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at $102.25, the Chicago Bulls at $82.33 and the Miami Heat at $78.30.

Of those four teams, only the Bulls raised their prices - by six percent.

The Los Angeles Clippers made the biggest increase in average ticket prices, a 24.3 percent boost bringing the price to $78.43.

The team long overshadowed by the Lakers enjoyed a solid playoff run on court last season that was overshadowed by the racism scandal that enveloped former owner Donald Sterling and finally resulted in the $2 billion sale of the club to former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

TMR bases its "average ticket price" on "non-premium" season ticket pricing for its survey.

The company also calculates a "fan cost index" representing the cost to take a family of four to a game and including four average-price tickets, two beers, four soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking, two programs and the purchase of two hats.

The Knicks top that chart, too, with a fan cost index of $676.42 - up 2.5 percent from last season.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 11/09/2014 page9)