Issue Date: December 16, 2001

Some corporate fixes

Sports Xanadu

It's no longer enough for teams merely to put on a basketball game.

By Ellen Durston

At the Staples Center in Los Angeles, a sports fan can eat sushi, take in a moonlit view of the city's skyline from a rooftop deck, do a little online banking, and -- oh, yeah -- watch a game. The $400 million arena, completed in October 1999 and home to the L.A. Lakers and the L.A. Clippers, as well as hockey's L.A. Kings, claims to be the only stadium in the world to boast caviar tastings and a cigar humidor. It is at once a posh hangout for yuppies and a venue for white-knuckle NBA games featuring the world-champion duo, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

With the economy on the brink of a recession and consumers becoming even more conservative with their disposable income, plumping up the typical basketball game experience is as important as ever. Especially because the über-stadium trend, which began with the building boom of the last decade, shows no sign of slowing down. In the late '90s, professional sports teams in Atlanta, Miami, Washington and Denver all built high-end arenas. San Antonio, Dallas and Memphis, which recently lured the Grizzlies from Vancouver, are the latest cities to build NBA stadiums.

Indeed, it seems it's no longer enough for teams simply to dish, drive and dunk. "You're asking for a premium price for NBA tickets, and that's driven by salaries," said Stan Meadows, senior counsel for Heico, parent of the Grizzlies controlling partner, which is in the planning stages of building the team's new $250 million arena. "If you're asking a premium price, you have to give a premium product."

When fans gather at the Grizzlies' new stadium next year, they might choose not to watch the game at all; touch-screen personal computers may be put in the backs of the extra-wide seats so fans can check league scores online.

In addition to the computers-in-seats idea, Meadows also has entertained other unique touches, such as a guitar-shaped roof (an homage to Memphis' music heritage), for his team's arena.

What were once considered special or unusual fan perks (say, concession stands that sell Italian paninis and cracked crab cocktail) have become matter-of-fact menu items at Conseco Fieldhouse, the $183 million stadium built for the Indiana Pacers in 1999.

"Montgomery Ward went out of business because people prefer to shop at Nordstrom," says Allen Sanderson, a sports economist at the University of Chicago. "It's the same principle here." He says the trend toward extravagant stadiums has been growing since team owners started spicing up time-out breaks with shooting contests and launching T-shirts into the crowd during commercial breaks. "Team owners have learned 'if they're willing to spend it, we'll build it. If they want a swimming pool in center field, we'll build it.' " In fact, Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has a swimming pool just past the right center field wall, where up to 35 fans can watch the game while swimming and hot tubbing.

Fans are paying for the increased luxury. According to the Team Marketing Report, a Chicago-based sports research firm, the league average for four tickets, two small beers, two soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking, two game programs and two caps is $277.19. What's more, many critics say the higher prices are increasingly squeezing out die-hard fans and families in favor of corporate clients, who contribute more to a team's bottom line by renting out high-priced luxury suites. At the soon-to-open SBC Center in San Antonio, for instance, there are 56 sky boxes, compared to the 32 in the Alamodome, the Spurs' current home. There also will be 11,500 fewer regular-priced seats.

Lane Mott, an avid Lakers fan who lives in Irvine, Calif., attended one game at the Staples Center last year, courtesy of a friend who had access to his company's corporate suite. "I had pretty much figured I'd be watching all the games on TV. I never even assumed that as a mere mortal I'd get to go to a game," says Mott, who adds he felt detached from the game -- and the rest of the fans -- while sitting in the suite.

Even Meadows, of the Grizzlies, agrees that some arenas, including the Staples Center, are too "corporate." It's something he's trying to guard against in building his own arena.

"Of course you want to have a good basketball team and nice stadium, but you also want to have a total fan experience. This is a small, vibrant basketball community. We want fun, noisy games more than anything."

Ellen Durston last wrote about NFL star Randy Moss for USA WEEKEND Magazine.

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