Lakers and Knicks Fans Would Lose Most in NBA Lockout

With the distinct possibility of a prolonged NBA Lockout, we decided to look at the economic implications of both a full and a half season of lost ticket sales, for each team and the league overall.
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With the distinct possibility of a prolonged NBA Lockout, we decided to look at the economic implications of both a full and a half season of lost ticket sales, for each team and the league overall. To do this, we used the below calculation:1) Average ticket price for each 30 NBA teams from the 2010-2011: $46-$253
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2) Average attendance for each team: 14,179-21,791
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3) Percentage of tickets sold in the secondary market for each game: 10%.
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4) Full season strike (41 games lost) or partial season strike (16 home games lost).

After running the math, it is no surprise to see the biggest markets would be affected the most. The list is below. For a Google docs version of the data, click here.

As for the league-wide impact, for a full season, NBA teams would collectively lose $184 million. This compares to the $340 million loss that NFL would have had in the event of a full season lockout. With the NFL, though, there was always a sense that we were witnessing a negotiation, bound to end in resolution. With the NBA, the feeling is different. We're obviously pulling as hard as anyone for the full 81 games, but are sad to admit that a 50 game season -- and a mere loss of $74.5 million -- would be a big win.

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