This post is from sports producer Tom Rotunno:
Source: nba.com
Reno Bighorns
You have to love it when a business faced with tough economic times gets creative to lessen the pain. First we had the St. Louis Blues offering to make mortgage payments for a few lucky fans.
Now we have the Reno Bighorns coming up with a season ticket promotion that ties the payment plan to the performance of the stock market. The NBA development league team is rolling out what they are calling their "Wall Street" financing plan.
No you don't sell tickets to people that can't afford them only to be bailed out later. Under this plan, buyers will be allowed to pay half their balance now and the remaining half on the day the Dow Jonesreaches 10,000 or by Nov. 15, 2009, whichever comes earlier. The dow closed Thursday at 7,552.
The plan is available for new season ticket buyers purchasing courtside seats, club seats and center seats. Team officials believe they are the first team in professional sports history to tie a ticket plan to the Dow JonesIndustrial Average.
2009 is forecasted to be a rough one in the sports business world, but a little creativity will help make things a lot more interesting—and hopefully less painful for both teams and fans. Nicely done Bighorns.
More from SportsBiz
Questions? Comments? SportsBiz@cnbc.com
