i was looking over my attendance figures, and got to wondering about what draws fans to the different tiers.
Bleacher seats are (to me) easy to figure out. These are filled with fans who are easily excited -- the fans who hop on the bandwagon when times are good, with short memories (they only remember the game before). Price is important to them. (i still remember when i raised prices by a dollar in middle of the season -- attendance dropped by 20%.) i don't think any of this is news to other managers.
What caught my eye were the courtside seats. Quite a discriminating bunch -- play DII opponent, sold out. Play bot Cup opponent, 81%; play DIV Cup opponent, 87%. My guess is this crowd places a premium on good basketball, unlike the bleacher bums who only want to see wins.
Luxury box folks, i figure, are influenced by prestige. i have little to go on here except that i am finally selling out all my luxury boxes for the first time -- and i have had 15 boxes for maybe six seasons. i am guessing these are a function of markets, and moving up the ladder is analogous to getting a larger market (with more corporate money and so on) -- sort of like going from Eugene to Portland to Seattle to Los Angeles.
i can't figure out the lower tier crowd. they must fit between the emotional cheapskates who fill the bleachers and the well-informed sophisticates who are courtside (my Jack Nicholsons and Spike Lees). and if i can't figure out who they are, i don't know how many seats to build for them.
any ideas?