T-Mobile Arena is struggling to sellout events

Interesting....

Where is the proof tickets are comped in Oakland? Is there a major tourst attraction there I'm not aware of? Why would there need to be a tourist attraction? There are over 7 million people in the Bay area. They dont need a "tourist attraction" to find a few thousand people willing to accept comp tickets.

Ticket comp'ing is done all the time all over the place whenever an event isn't projected to sell-out. It's generally openly reported. Here's Ward/Dawson: http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/9/12/3323602/ward-vs-dawson-hbo-rating-viewers-live-gate-attendance-paid-hbo-boxing-news Here's an article David Greisman did on some of the past shows: http://www.boxingscene.com/fighting-words-bizarre-mayweather-pacquiao-lawsuit--55762 Thank you for the info.

Great stuff from EastCoast. And to expand on his post a little bit: tickets are comped when an event doesn't sell out for two reasons: lots of empty seats visible has a negative impact on television ratings and the brand in general; people see that the place isn't full and subconsciously find it less exciting. Tickets are also given away to reduce the economic deadweight loss... having people come in the door for free doesnt mean they arent going spend any money (beer, a tshirt, whatever)

Idk about this. Revenue beats a sell out. If they are getting more revenue with these marked up secondary seller type prices than other comparable venues they should keep it up. The term sell out is highly overrated. I'd rather make $200k more per event & never sell out than to sell out every event. If that is or isn't the case as far as revenue goes who knows. Fair enough; still, if that's the stance, keep to it. Understand that the venues won't get sold out, but that the secondary market also won't be as active either (due to the aggressive initial pricing of the tickets). Fans will grumble about the higher prices, but the hope is that they at least still tune in for the event, rather than just tuning out completely. Not a gamble that I'd take, but it's not my money in play.

Kovalev - Ward most likely wouldn't sell out in any big stadium in the US. So from a business perspective, Vegas makes sense. They get the Casino site fee (TMOBILE is owned by MGM even though it isn't attached to a casino) and tax incentives to fight in Nevada. As a fan, New York would be the best place for this fight.

Why would tickets be comped in Oakland? Serious question. Is there something more to bring fans to the area by providing comps? Also curious where you got your information. Not calling you out, I just don't keep up with these things. Ticket comp'ing is done all the time all over the place whenever an event isn't projected to sell-out. It's generally openly reported. Here's Ward/Dawson: http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/9/12/3323602/ward-vs-dawson-hbo-rating-viewers-live-gate-attendance-paid-hbo-boxing-news The California State Athletic Commission had its own Rocky story on the night, coming back from the brink of death to finally post some solid figures for a fight in the state. The event sold 7,611 tickets at Oracle Arena, for a gate of $706,469. 1,308 tickets were comped to pad the crowd a little bit, but for recent California cards, that's nothing. Here's an article David Greisman did on some of the past shows: http://www.boxingscene.com/fighting-words-bizarre-mayweather-pacquiao-lawsuit--55762 You could look at the attendance figures for last month’s fight between Adrien Broner and Vicente Escobedo from two angles. The seven-fight card at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, had a total attendance of 4,596, with 4,296 sold tickets and 300 tickets given away for free, according to the Ohio Athletic Commission. However, the card brought in a total gate of only $136,890. That means that tickets sold, on average, for less than $32. On the surface, this could seem bad, but this could also be taken as an investment in a boxer who has now fought 11 of his 24 pro fights in his native Cincinnati, with two of his last three being at the U.S. Bank Arena. He’s building a following, albeit at a lower price, but that could create a growing customer base that will come out in the future, and perhaps pay more for the pleasure. That’s not as applicable an argument, however, if a majority of those tickets were sold at a discount. While Broner-Escobedo was one of four major cards in the United States in June and July to sell more tickets than it gave away for free, half of the eight major cards were the complete opposite, with more freebies than sales. The other three to have more sold than free: The June 9 card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas featuring Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley had 13,229 tickets sold for a gate of $8,963,180, with 925 tickets comped. The June 16 card at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, featuring Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Andy Lee had 10,799 tickets sold for a gate of $756,461, with 2,677 comped tickets. The July 7 card at the Home Depot Center in Southern California featuring Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula and Kelly Pavlik vs. Will Rosinsky sold 2,667 tickets for a gate of $149,246, with 677 tickets comped. The four with more free than sold: A June 2 quadruple-header at the Home Depot Center headlined by Antonio Tarver vs. Lateef Kayode had 1,200 sold tickets and a whopping 5,810 comps, for a total gate of $84,676.25. A June 23 card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles headlined by Victor Ortiz vs. Josesito Lopez had 3,479 sold tickets and 3,862 comps. I couldn’t find the total gate while researching figures this weekend. A July 14 card at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas featuring Amir Khan vs. Danny Garcia had 3,147 sold tickets and 3,365 comps, for a total gate of $426,150. And the July 28 card at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., featuring Robert Guerrero vs. Selcuk Aydin had 2,891 sold tickets and 3,126 comps, for a total gate of $209,422. (The above figures came via Keith Kizer of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com and Mark Ortega of queensberry-rules.com.)

Common business when it becomes clear fights do not sell out at all, they give so called complimentary tickets for free to certain people, so the atmosphere is better. PBC and Andre Ward have been doing this for years, several other fighters too on certain cards. Where is the proof tickets are comped in Oakland? Is there a major tourst attraction there I'm not aware of?

The ticket prices for McGregor are way too high, thats the only reason. McGregor already lost against Diaz, McGregor after that loss isnt a huge draw as he once was. Also the whole card is not really interesting. There is not much hype going on. A couple days before the event they still sold almost 90% of the totally overpriced tickets, seems pretty good to me Or was this thread actually another apologist thread for Ward? Finally someone who actually READ , they are 2700 short of selling out a 20k arena for nosebleed prices , they are extermely happy with it , just "selling out" is not an issue for them as they can clearly price them lower and do it in a heartbeat , they are maxmizing their revenue and they seem to hit the sweet spot more or less.

the vast majority of Vegas visitors do not rent a car. Your vegas experience is to get buzzed before the fight, get **** faced after, then go gamble and party. Having to go OUT to Tmo.... not as convenient as sitting at the local bar. Hence why MGM fights are successful.

Yeah, those prices are what Mayweayher charges for his fights. I was surprised that they charged the sale for that fight. That said, there was definitely not 7,000 empty seats in that arena. Common business when it becomes clear fights do not sell out at all, they give so called complimentary tickets for free to certain people, so the atmosphere is better. PBC and Andre Ward have been doing this for years, several other fighters too on certain cards.

The Canelo fights that sold so well at Dallas Cowboys stadium in Texas had ticket prices that ranged from $500 to $30. The Canelo/Khan fight did not sell well because GBP made the mistake of thinking that he had two superstars fighting who could sell out an arena and he decided to charge exorbitant prices for Canelo/Khan instead of the usual prices they charge for fights at Dallas Cowboys stadium` Yeah, those prices are what Mayweayher charges for his fights. I was surprised that they charged the sale for that fight. That said, there was definitely not 7,000 empty seats in that arena.

I went to the first fight there Khan-Canelo and I've got to say I agree. It really is out the way. Whilst bein just off the strip the fact it's off the strip is just inconvenient. Vegas regulars like myself are used to going to fights in an Casino/Hotel where it's very easy access. It didn't help that it was pouring down with rain in Vegas on the day of the Khan-Canelo fight. The walk from MGM Grand Hotel to the T Mobile Arena wasn't a pleasant one and a lot of people who had dressed up for the occasion were pissed off.

Canelo Khan tickets were priced at $1,500, $1,200, $1,000, $800, $600, $400, $250 and $150. They were still 7000 short of a sellout. The Canelo fights that sold so well at Dallas Cowboys stadium in Texas had ticket prices that ranged from $500 to $30. The Canelo/Khan fight did not sell well because GBP made the mistake of thinking that he had two superstars fighting who could sell out an arena and he decided to charge exorbitant prices for Canelo/Khan instead of the usual prices they charge for fights at Dallas Cowboys stadium`

The ticket prices for McGregor are way too high, thats the only reason. McGregor already lost against Diaz, McGregor after that loss isnt a huge draw as he once was. Also the whole card is not really interesting. There is not much hype going on. A couple days before the event they still sold almost 90% of the totally overpriced tickets, seems pretty good to me Or was this thread actually another apologist thread for Ward?

Weird that ESPN would run such a weak article. Chavez Jr-Martinez was at the Thomas and Mack center, which has basically the same capacity and also not attached to a casino, and it sold out out so fast it broke records, because the tickets ranged from $25-600. Compare that to UFC charging $365-$9,995 for this.... I mean why would you expect a sellout? The venue has nothing to do with anything.

Canelo Khan tickets were priced at $1,500, $1,200, $1,000, $800, $600, $400, $250 and $150. They were still 7000 short of a sellout. 13,000 sold 3,000 comped is still better than Ward who sells 5,000 tickets and they give away 3000-5000 tickets per fight in his hometown. If they do 13k for ward kovalev that is good. Most fights don't sell out in any venue. Canelo didn't sell out vs Trout or Kirkland but had over 30k for each. Floyd didn't sell out for Guerrero, Maidana 1 or 2, Marquez, etc but had good crowds, Manny didn't sell out for any of the bradley fights, Margo, Clottey etc yet had good crowds. You don't need to sell out.

The venue seats 20k, and McGregor-Diaz II, especially at a $350-$10k price point, isn't going to move that many tickets ever. Even Mayweather-Pacquiao didn't price their ringside seats that high. Price the tickets accordingly and the venue sells out. I agree. Tickets way too expensive. And the article says people aren't buying tickets on an event per event basis. Means they already have tickets. Plus like you said Haymon ruined the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight by not releasing the tickets till the week before the fight. Many people didn't come in because they couldn't book reasonable flights in time and be sure they could get a ticket.

Went to the guns n roses show when they opened the arena, 20 for parking, 350 plus 35 "service fee" a ticket, 4 tickets a couple of drinks, thats a 2 grand night, there is like a 10 mts walk from parking garage to the doors, its better to take a cab or uber; bottom line prices are leaving a lot of people out, stones are coming later this year, lowest tickets were 750 when i looked.

Maybe Ward's team was onto something when they had second thoughts about staging the fight at the T-Mobile arena? For those that are unaware, McGregor Diaz 2 is being staged at the T-Mobile yet they are still 2700 tickets away from a sellout and the fight is two days away. The Ticket prices range from $365-$9,995, but apparently the main reason for the lack of ticket sales is that the arena isn't attached to a casino. From ESPN's Darren Rovell If They're having trouble selling out Diaz vs. McGregor, then what does that mean for Kovalev vs. Ward? Keep in mind the Canelo vs. Khan fight wasn't a sellout either. They sold 13,000 tickets in a venue that holds 20,000. Ward doesn't sell out in Oakland either. 13,000 in T Mobile would be more than he does at home