The Dallas Mavericks are raising prices on season tickets at a time when fan frustration with the team is high.
On Monday, the Mavericks sent season-ticket renewals to existing customers. The rate to remain a season-ticket holder increased by an average of 8.6 percent, the Mavericks confirmed.
Season tickets on the floor and on the terrace levels saw the steepest hikes, with the cost to remain there increasing by as much as 20 percent.
Stephen McGuirk, a season-ticket holder since 2015 who has two seats in Section 204, said the cost of his tickets increased by 8.3 percent. McGuirk said he was told to “be on the lookout” for a renewal notice in late January. He, however, said he never heard from the team in January or February; he received a notice Monday that his tickets would auto-renew on March 17.
The Mavericks traded Luka Dončić, the former face of the franchise, to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2. McGuirk was one of the many Mavericks fans who felt blindsided by that decision.
“I’ve never felt more betrayed by a sports franchise in my entire life,” McGuirk told The Athletic in February.
The Lakers, who were playing well before Dončić’s arrival, have gone 6-2 with him in the lineup and are winners of six consecutive games. Los Angeles (38-21) has moved to second place in the Western Conference standings.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks (32-29) have slipped to 10th place in the West. Dallas, which has been rocked by injuries at the power forward and center positions, has lost three of four games headed into Monday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings. The Mavericks lost their first game against Dončić on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles. Dončić, who last season finished third in MVP voting and led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, faces his former team in Dallas for the first time on April 9.
The Mavericks last faced the Kings on Feb. 10. In Dallas’ 129-128 overtime loss that night, multiple Mavericks fans who publicly expressed displeasure about the Dončić trade were ejected from American Airlines Center.
The rate hike in season tickets was made to “better reflect seat value, especially in high-demand areas closest to the court,” the Mavericks said in a statement. The adjustments were made after months of evaluating ticket prices on the secondary market.
The Mavericks also pointed out that, before this season, they shifted their local television model by parting ways with Bally Sports and making all their non-national TV exclusives free on over-the-air TV. That decision cost the Mavericks more than $50 million in revenue.
The Mavericks projected that, even with the rate hikes, season-ticket holders will save 15 to 23 percent compared to prices on the secondary ticket marketplace next season.
(Photo by Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)
