Yeah, the Jazz have, too.
That's why they have adopted a new "variable pricing" ticket policy this season that makes single-game tickets to the 10 most attractive games significantly more expensive than the others. The move follows the example set by many other teams around the NBA, and is designed - as you probably would expect - to make more money.
"We have received very little feedback," said Jim Olson, the Jazz's senior vice president of sales and marketing. "But some of the feedback that we have received is that our fans do understand. The economy of professional sports is a very difficult economy . . . and we need to be able to compete."
In other words, somebody has to pay Deron Williams.
Under the new plan, single-game tickets for seats in the lower-bowl of EnergySolutions Arena will cost about 20 percent more for the 10 premium games than the other 31, while most seats in the upper-bowl will cost between 21 and 33 percent more - though seats at one relatively inexpensive price level jump 60 percent.
The least expensive seats - $10 apiece - near the top of the arena are not affected. Season-ticket holders are not affected either; their tickets are discounted from the single-game ticket price.
"Each year, going into the season, this issue gets brought up," Olson said. "And it finally came due. It was finally the right time just to do it."
The Jazz were able to determine which games were most attractive to fans by tracking how many tickets were re-sold through their online ticket exchange service last season, and for how much. The Lakers were easily the most popular opponent.
"There is a secondary ticket market out there, where people are paying increased prices for specific games," Olson said. "We felt that we could capitalize on this opportunity and capitalize on the demand for these tickets, and generate some additional revenue."
Olson declined to disclose how much additional money the new plan might bring to the Jazz, and said the decision to implement it was not specifically tied to Williams signing a contract extension during the summer that could be worth as much as $70 million.
But "timing is important," he said. "The fans have to see that we are committed to putting a winning, competitive team on the court."
One thing fans can't easily see is how much more they will have to pay for tickets.
The color-coded seating chart on the Jazz web site lists corresponding prices for only the regularly priced, nonpremium games, and for tickets purchased as part of a season-ticket plan.
Neither the premium prices nor the variable-pricing plan are mentioned.
Only by attempting to purchase single-game tickets and comparing the pull-down menus of ticket choices for different games can fans discern that the prices are different. The list of games does not identify which ones are the premium games, however.
