Support so far is overwhelming
Season tickets are selling like hot cakes. Great news.
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"Callers hang on for quick-selling Hornets tickets
By Andrew Gilman
The Oklahoman
The wait was long.
But the ticket prices kind of made up for it.
Hornets officials said Thursday more than 5,000 deposits have been made for season tickets so far - all since mid-morning Wednesday - as fans jammed the phone lines and waited on hold for a chance to get an NBA ticket.
“I’m a little surprised,” said Scott Hall, media relations director for the Hornets. “We were hoping to get 2,000 sold by Sunday. We passed that in the first 12 hours.”
The Hornets, who relocated 35 of their home games this season to Oklahoma City’s Ford Center, are offering season ticket packages for as low as $379. A season ticket in the lower section is being sold for $999.
That kind of offer has made an impact.
“It’s just something great to experience,” said Edmond’s Chris Randolph, a fan who was interested in getting tickets this season. “Having the team close to home, and at those prices, it’s just so accessible.”
Twice Thursday, the wait was more than 10 minutes to speak to a Hornet representative.
“We’ve been adding operators,” Hornet chief marketing officer Tim McDougall said. “We started with 10 operators, and now there’s 20.”
Why are callers waiting? Because Hornet officials have announced 4,000 tickets per game will be available for $10. Another 3,500 tickets will be available for $20 or less.
Single-game tickets will not be available until mid-October.
The Hornets open their season at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Ford Center against the Sacramento Kings. They return home for a Nov. 9 game against Orlando, and they’ll play every NBA team at least once in the Ford Center.
While there’s a vast number of seats available for seemingly cheap prices, the closer to the action you want, the more you’ll pay. Hornet officials couldn’t be exact, but they did say some tickets could be sold for up to $1,000 per seat. There also will be season-ticket packages for about $35,000 per seat, as well.
Fans want the expensive seats
“What we’re hearing early is that they (the fans) want the best of the best,” McDougall said of the most-expensive seats. “Those are the ones that people are interested in. That’s the kind of demand we’ve been hearing about.”
And that’s in a market which hasn’t had any opportunity to declare the Hornets as their favorite team yet.
“To see all the other players around the league is so cool,” Randolph said, never once mentioning Hornet stars J.R. Smith or Chris Paul. “I’m not exactly a Hornets’ fan, but I guess I could always change my mind.” "
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