Inventing seats: Inside Partizan's attendance numbers most NBA teams would envy / News - Basketnews.com

BasketNews takes a look at Partizan's ticket policy that has led the Serbian club to several records in fan attendance this season.

Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

IfPartizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade have managed to secure a EuroLeague playoff spot for the first time since 2010, their volcanic fanbase has been one of the main contributing factors.

Points this season

50%85,2Points made:85,2Accuracy:50,2%Place in standings:3Record max:104Record min:58Best scorer:Kevin PunterTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"What I found fascinating about this journey was the number of our fans. I have no words to thank them for all their support throughout the season, and I expect them to continue to do so until the end," coach Zeljko Obradovic said in an interview after his team returned from a road trip in Italy.

"They come from all over Europe. These are people who follow us wherever we go. In Italy, everyone was delighted with the way they cheered the team. This is an example of loyalty to the club. It really looked fascinating," Obradovic praised Partizan's supporters.

Similarly, former Partizan coach Andrea Trinchieri wasn't surprised to see a good number of Serbian fans at the Audi Dome when FC Bayern Munich hosted Partizan. The visiting team beat the competition on and off the court, and the Italian tactician knew what to expect.

"It's always like that. They are the best fans in the world. Hands down. Everywhere they go, it's like this," Trinchieri said.

Now, if that's the situation in away games, imagine what it's like for teams visiting the Stark Arena this season. Partizan fans keep making headlines, mostly for all the right reasons.

Even though certain reprehensive behaviors haven't been avoided, the club has punished them.

Partizan's spectacular comeback to the grand stage of European basketball has brought an unprecedented feeling of euphoria to Zeljko Obradovic's team, which has been successful on all fronts.

As the 1992 continental champs have already qualified for the EuroLeague playoffs while leading the ABA League standings, it's clear thatmore and more fans want to see the black-and-white team in action.

Their last home game against Igokea in the ABA League was no exception.

With attendance amounting to 11,187, Partizan pushed the boundaries again. A total of 98,130 fans have followed their home games in the ABA League this season, which is the largest number any club has ever recorded in one season in the competition's history.

In 13 games this season, the lowest number was against FMP Zeleznik, only 3,396. When you look at the numbers, usually around 6,000 fans watch ABA League matches live, but the situation changed drastically in the last few rounds when Partizan geared up for good, making huge strides.

Against Crvena Zvezda, a new ABA League record was achieved, as 17,124 fans watched their team's comeback against their main rivals. When Cedevita were welcomed by 15,685, it became clear that another milestone was on the cards.

Partizan's last EuroLeague regular season home contest against Panathinaikos this Friday can bring the Serbian team to the 6th position in the table. Whether that will happen is up for debate.

What's already certain is that the Serbian powerhouse will exceed the incredible number of 300,000 fans who attended their games. So far, there has been an average of 17,642 fans per game, while a total of 282,285 tickets sold overall.

As 20,094 more items have been bought for what will be their fourth straight home game with over 20,000 in the EuroLeague season, those numbers increase to 17,787 and 302,379, respectively.

Partizan have had more than 18,000 fans in eight of their 17 EuroLeague games. The clash against Real Madrid brought 20,068 fans to the Stark Arena, which potentially can accommodate a lot more (up to 25,000) if a concert is taking place.

With that in mind, the club's president Ostoja Mijailovic revealed that he had a gigantic plan.

"I spoke with a man from the EuroLeague the other day, and I jokingly asked him if their rules allow a game to be played outdoors if we get to the Top 8.

It occurred to me to place the pre-made basketball floor at the stadium in Humska 1 and play the quarterfinals there," he said in an hour-long interview with Partizan TV.

"I'm sure we would fill the stadium, it would be a spectacle. Of course, that won't happen, but when you look at the demand, the fans' interest in the matches, it would be possible."

Those numbers look almost incredible by European standards. But they don't lag too much behind compared to NBA attendance numbers either. With Partizan having a whooping average attendance of 17,787 this season, they overtake not one but the majority (16) of the 30 NBA franchises.

At the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign, the club announced that 11,500 season tickets had been sold. The non-stop frenzy that followed, however, has rendered Partizan the most popular team in modern EuroLeague history.

Marko Vukomanovic, the club's marketing director, answers all the questions one would want to ask regarding ticket sales.

At which prices (lowest-highest) were season tickets sold, and until which date were they available for purchase?Season tickets were available until October 5th. That's the date we chose because we realized we must limit the number as there was high interest and the true need to save some single-game tickets.

We started from 110 EUR for the Upper Bowl side, and the most expensive seats were at 4,000 EUR for Bench seats (known as Hollywood seats).

How big was the rise in season ticket sales compared to last year (number or percentage)?Around 120%.

What are the benefits for season ticket holders?For the first time, we created a true hospitality experience for over 600 spectators. Also, there is an optional VIP parking lot for a promo price. Some of them are even included in the price (Sky box with 10 seats).

I must underline that season ticket holders always have the advantage of renewing their subscription for the next season. In this way, we want to reward their loyalty. Also, there is a certain discount for some ticket categories.

What are the average prices of single-game tickets (lowest, second-lowest, highest)?In EuroLeague, we start from 12 EUR for the Upper Bowl side and go up to 250 EUR for Bench Seats. The Upper Bowl Center is 15 EUR, while the Lower Bowl Center is 50 and 60 EUR.

In the ABA League, prices are lower, and for some games, they even start from 3,5 EUR, like the one against Igokea on Monday.

In terms of single-ticket policy, are prices adjusted to the opponent/league?Yes. There are 4 categories. Two for ABA League and two for EuroLeague.

Does the club apply the dynamic pricing strategy (according to demand and the days left until the game day)?No. Once we set the prices for some games, they cannot be changed. We could do it if we wanted, but our policy was not to do it.

What's the Stark Arena's maximum total capacity? If, for instance, more than 23,000 tickets can be sold, why did the club decide to make 20k available in recent games?There is an official capacity of 18,386 regular seats. There are also 860 regular seats and 250 removable seats in 70 Sky Boxes. Also, court seats with removable chairs are not included in this number. With the smart use of empty space, we managed to increase the total number of seats to 20,094.

Stark Arena could accommodate up to 25,000 spectators for concerts or if we were allowed to remove chairs in the Lower Bowl and have everyone standing. But that's not an option. Neither for us nor for EuroLeague.

Where do the average attendance numbers in ABA League games stand compared to the two previous seasons?Two years ago, we had a Covid situation and games being held without spectators. Last season, we played many games in the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, so it's logical that the numbers increased this year.

Only in the games against Crvena Zvezda and Cedevita Olimpija were around 33,000 spectators. That's almost five times a full house in the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.

We broke our own ABA record and now have an average of over 7,500. Last season we had 4.901 fans per game.

Some EuroLeague teams (Zalgiris, Olympiacos) have already started to sell their season tickets for the 2023-24 season.

Will Partizan do the same once the club's participation in the next EuroLeague campaign is confirmed? If so, how many tickets will be available and for how long?There are many 'if' in this question, so let's wait and see. Certainly, we will have our ticketing strategy ready for season 2023-24. We can't sell it before we know what we are playing.

Also, we will have some changes in some categories. But nothing too significant, just some adjustments.

What's the overall (estimated or projected) ticket revenue/income?Again, it depends on how many home games we will have. But we will definitely have over 4 million euros of income, including season and single-game tickets.

What's the planning ahead of the playoffs? Will prices/number of available tickets change?We are trying to 'invent' more seats if there's some free space. But most probably, capacity will be the same. We will talk about pricing once it is all ready for announcement.

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