Philadelphia 76ers Seek The Help Of NHL To Help Sell Tickets
This year the city of Phildelphia has seen some all time records for attendence of the Phillies, Eagles and even the Flyers but where is the 76ers? That’s because the 76ers are setting records for attendence but all time lows. The Sixers have the worst attendance mark in the NBA, drawing fewer fans (11,451 per home game), that even trails the winless New Jersey Nets and the often pathetic franchise of the Los Angeles Clippers.
The team is down almost 30 percent from last year, the largest year-over-year decrease in the league.
Comcast which owns the Sixers, the Flyers, the Wachovia Center and the cable network that televises both teams is using the Flyers to help spike the 76ers numbers. Going forward when a Flyer fan purchasestwo tickets to an upcoming game, a pair of Sixers tickets will be included. The Flyers rank No. 3 in NHL attendance and has sold more than 99 percent of its seats through 12 home games. Interestingly, the ad for the Flyers-Sixers combo deal is at the very bottom of the Flyers home page but is at the very top of Sixers.com.
Overall NBA attendance this season is down two percent, but that figure is a little misleading because many teams have slashed prices for less-desirable seats or are just handing out tickets for free. The Charlotte Bobcats gave away hundreds of tickets for the team’s season opener, and earlier this week, the Nets offered two free passes to all of the team’s existing customers for Tuesday’s night game against the Indiana Pacers and still played before a half empty arena.
The San Antonio Spurs are even down 8% from last years numbers at this point.


