Ticket increases are almost guaranteed off-season happenings across the board in professional sports, and the Lakers are no exception, especially considering they are coming off a season where they went to the NBA Finals.
But there's one other important reason why the Lakers need to generate more revenue each year. They are over the salary cap, and that means they have to pay a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax. Jerry Buss doesn't seem to mind spending the money to make runs at championships, and you can't blame him for trying to recoup some of that money in the process. Can you?
By Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 9, 2008
The Lakers increased ticket prices across the board for a third consecutive season, a relatively unsurprising action after the team paid almost $5 million in luxury taxes on last season's payroll and faced a larger tax hit next season.
Courtside seats were raised from $2,300 to $2,500 a game, an 8.7% hike that moved beyond the typical annual increase of 4.5%.
Seats in six lower-level sections between the baskets -- 101, 102, 110, 111, 112 and 119 -- were raised from $230 to $245, a 6.5% increase that also topped the team's normal action on such seats.
The league average for ticket-price increases is usually 3% to 4%.
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