It comes as no surprise for a team coming off a disappointing season in a down economy, but the Jazz have seen a decline in season-ticket sales, according to an NBA memo shared with The Tribune .
Through the first week of July, the Jazz ranked 10th in season-ticket renewals at 76.4 percent. That's better than the league average of 71.1 percent, but down from the 91.6 percent rate the Jazz enjoyed through the same period in 2008. The Jazz had 10,713 renewals through the first week of July, compared with 13,120 in 2008, with 533 new season-ticket packages sold compared with 744. That left the Jazz with a season-ticket base of 11,246, down nearly 19 percent from last year's 13,864.
The Jazz still boast one of the NBA's largest season-ticket bases, though Orlando is leading the league at 11,638. Cleveland leads with a 94.5 percent renewal rate, ahead of Boston and Portland.
But the Jazz's ticket revenue ($32.5 million) so far in 2009 is down about 9 percent compared with $35.7 million for all of 2008. That number is nowhere near as dramatic as some teams (Detroit and Sacramento) that have seen nearly 50 percent declines.
The Salt Lake Tribune
