Empty Seats Again? (Starts thin, ends thick & lively)

8pm game3

At the last home game, Barclays lower deck was half empty at game time. It was a weeknight with a 7 pm start so some wondered whether that led to a slow-arriving crowd. This game is on a Saturday at 8 pm. How thick was the crowd at game time?

8pm game3

Ok, by 8:30 things were looking quite a bit better but still plenty of empties.

830 game3

A bit better still at 9 pm:

9 pm game 3 nets heat

By the end of the third quarter it’s pretty full! And the crowd is damn lively!

end of 3q game 3 heat
Here’s what it looked like at 7 pm last home game:

UPDATED: The crowd in general was actually quite great last night. And the upper decks were full early on. So the problem appears to be holders of the pricier tickets, which includes a share of expense-account and corporate buyers. It’s a bit mysterious: do people really pay hundreds for a ticket with the intention of showing up for just the second half? Strange. Maybe the Nets should reclaim tickets if the ticket holder’s seats remain vacant for too long? Other solutions?

empty stands