May 9, 1997
Phones began ringing steadily in the FleetCenter ticket offices three days ago, when it was all but apparent Rick Pitino
would become the Celtics' next coach. Ticket requests have been
practically nonstop since. During the first 48 hours, more than 400
patrons put down $ 100 deposits on season tickets. In all, the team took
deposits on 1,000 season tickets during the two-day period.
"And
several people who had canceled seats called back and said they'd like
to get their seats back. It's been incredible," said Stuart Layne, the
team's executive vice president of marketing and sales. "We've gotten
deposits on 1,000 season tickets, and we haven't put tickets on sale
yet."
When they do go on sale, the prices
may change for certain seats. Chairman of the board Paul Gaston said
yesterday the team's $ 10 seats "will not be increased while I'm around.
The rest I'm not so sure about."
Layne said the team will likely increase its season ticket base from 12,700 to as many as 15,000.
"It
depends how fast the orders come in," said Layne. He said the team
averaged more than 16,000 tickets last season, and with 1,000 new season
tickets expected, it would need to sell just 1,500 to return to the
days when every game was a sellout.
"As we
view ticket sales in the past in Boston Garden, you had a very loyal fan
base that controlled most of the tickets, he said. "As you move into
the FleetCenter, it gave us an opportunity for more tickets by having
3,000 more tickets per night, and with the $ 10-$ 18 tickets, we were
able to expand our fan base to some who either couldn't get a ticket or
couldn't afford it. With Pitino's enthusiasm, we've got demand in all categories."
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