NBA Lockout to Cost Arena Operators Over $1 Billion?


According to Bloomberg, should all of next season get wiped out by the lockout, NBA arena operators could see enormous financial losses: “National Basketball Association arena operators would miss out on more than $1 billion in ticket revenue if a labor shutdown wipes out the 2011-12 season, probably leaving their buildings dark those nights. ‘Most all the dates would go unfilled,’ former Portland Trail Blazers President Steve Patterson wrote in an e-mail. The NBA’s 30 teams generated more than $1.1 billion in gate receipts during the 2010-11 campaign, according to the annual postseason audit conducted by the league and the players’ union. That probably would rise due to customary ticket-price increases if players and owners reach a labor agreement in time to prevent lost games this season.”