Asia’s first play-for-pay league,
the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), has lamented once again its poor
gate receipts, citing the need to “avoid playing in smaller venues” and in
having a longer break between conferences. By “smaller venues” the
management and marketing heavyweights of the PBA meant venues outside of the
Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City with
their touted “capacity and convenience… that impact on gate attendance.”
From where we sit, it’s not really a
question of sitting capacity or convenience as holding the PBA games at the
cavernous Araneta and the MOA Arena actually highlight the league’s poor gate
receipts as there are more vacant seats. To fill up those seats, the PBA
should revisit its ticket pricing structure to make watching its games live
more accessible to its fan base. And instead of shunning smaller venues, the
PBA should consider increasing its out-of-town games to rev up nationwide
interest on the game.
It’s better to have smaller venues
in the provinces that are packed by fans than to see the Araneta and MOA
on television with even the seats at the bleacher areas empty of
spectators. Indeed, as admitted by the PBA, many Filipinos are
becoming bored and tired with the league because of so many factors like the
realization that despite the great showing of Gilas Pilipinas abroad, that
basketball remains and will always be a game dominated by big men.
There are just too many PBA games
played each week – 10 games on five playing days – and just a few days in
between conferences. A team has yet to savor winning a championship in the PBA
and then the next season starts. This has the effect of taking the luster out
of PBA titles, very much unlike in the NBA which only has one conference and
one champion a year.
Yes, the PBA still has too small a
pool of teams to have only one conference. Still, it’s a wonder why it can’t
keep a break between conferences that is long enough to make the
fans miss the games and crave the coming of a new conference. –End-
Image by: SRTBS
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