On work stoppages and ticket prices

As the expiration of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement nears (2011), the league would be wise to look at what is going on in the Arena Football League.

Once fans get in the habit of staying away, it’s tough to get them back.

I don’t know about the rest of the AFL, but Friday night’s opener for the Utah Blaze at the E-Center was disappointing. Attendance was just 5,032, which didn’t look awful in the smallish arena, but it was far below the old average.

Before the demise of the original AFL, attendance at ESA was 14,020 for the 2008 season.

I know Friday was just the first game, but it did include pop star David Archuleta in a halftime show.

The AFL doesn’t have the lasting power of the NBA, but still, leagues verging on work stoppages need to remember that it can take a long time to recoup fan loyalty once they’ve been deprived. The Blaze didn’t have a home Jazz game to compete with, nor did they have any college basketball or Bees baseball going on. It was a Friday night – perfect for fans to take in a game.

One factor for the sparse Blaze attendance was probably ticket prices. Premium single-game tickets are $85, which seems pretty high for the product. Sideline seats in the back half of the lower bowl are $45. Fans at regular season Jazz games can get seats at the front of the upper bowl for $40.

The new AFL isn’t the NFL and it’s not even the level of the old AFL, because a lot of players elected not to play for the $500 per game salary. But the Blaze may want to consider scaling down the price of their best seats, if they want anyone sitting in them this season. Friday night there were huge gaps of empty seats, especially in the lower bowl, where prices were higher.