After the Bulls traded Kirk Hinrich last week, clearing cap space to (presumably) sign LeBron James and maybe another top free agent, the team had a run on season tickets:
↵↵↵“I’ve never seen a feeding frenzy like this,” said [Steve] Schanwald, the team’s executive vice president of business operations. “Tickets are being sold on speculation alone.”
↵In two days, the Bulls — who led the league in attendance last season — sold 1,500 new season tickets. That’s on top of the 1,500 new season tickets they sold after the season ended. That’s without actually making any acquisition, of course.
↵Most of the tickets, Schanwald said, were in the 300 level. Still, at the cheapest, that’s roughly $1,800 per season ticket, of which the Bulls require a 30 percent deposit.
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Sort of like the increase the Blackhawks saw in season ticket sales two years ago, when their base rose from 3,000 to 14,000, mainly because people wanted to see the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.
↵Those people got Stanley Cup Finals tickets this year. Bet they’re happy. Some of the people buying Bulls season tickets now might be real happy next June, too.