SPORTS OPINION: Ticket Scalping With Chinese Characteristics? Socialism this Ain’t…
By Answer Lv Zhuo
On October 14 and 17, the first-ever NBA games were played in China. When the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings played preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing, the NBA fans that went to see the live performance were justifiably excited--but they paid dearly for their thrill. Tickets were hard to get and expensive. Tickets for the two games could only be purchased through China Superticket, the sole ticketing agency officially appointed by the organizers, BMBS and NBA. Purchasers had to undergo a complex procedure to get their tickets. An individual purchaser could buy no more than four tickets.
Common tickets for the two games were priced from RMB 180 to RMB 3000. But fans could hardly get a ticket in that range; on the black-market, the price was much higher. A 1,900-RMB ticket sold for over 7,000 RMB--almost four times higher than the original price. 7,000 RMB means a lot to people living in Shanghai and Beijing; it’s about six times their average monthly income. The price was much too high for the common fan to afford. The highest price was 15,000 for a box. That’s only for rich people--very rich people. As a result, most fans had no chance to go to the games and get close to their idols, like Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Chris Webber. It’s really a pity.
NBA commissioner David Stern said that the games were not aimed at making money but rather as an investment in the Chinese market; and he did spend millions to bring NBA basketball to China. However, if he really has plans to do it again as announced, perhaps he’d best make an investment in the common Chinese basketball fan.
On October 14 and 17, the first-ever NBA games were played in China. When the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings played preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing, the NBA fans that went to see the live performance were justifiably excited--but they paid dearly for their thrill. Tickets were hard to get and expensive. Tickets for the two games could only be purchased through China Superticket, the sole ticketing agency officially appointed by the organizers, BMBS and NBA. Purchasers had to undergo a complex procedure to get their tickets. An individual purchaser could buy no more than four tickets.
Common tickets for the two games were priced from RMB 180 to RMB 3000. But fans could hardly get a ticket in that range; on the black-market, the price was much higher. A 1,900-RMB ticket sold for over 7,000 RMB--almost four times higher than the original price. 7,000 RMB means a lot to people living in Shanghai and Beijing; it’s about six times their average monthly income. The price was much too high for the common fan to afford. The highest price was 15,000 for a box. That’s only for rich people--very rich people. As a result, most fans had no chance to go to the games and get close to their idols, like Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Chris Webber. It’s really a pity.
NBA commissioner David Stern said that the games were not aimed at making money but rather as an investment in the Chinese market; and he did spend millions to bring NBA basketball to China. However, if he really has plans to do it again as announced, perhaps he’d best make an investment in the common Chinese basketball fan.
2 Comments:
At 11:19 AM , yuran said...
you say: NBA commissioner David Stern said that the games were not aimed at making money but rather as an investment in the Chinese market; and he did spend millions to bring NBA basketball to China. However, if he really has plans to do it again as announced, perhaps he’d best make an investment in the common Chinese basketball fan.－－－－
Excuse me, but it is highly unlikely that Mr. David Stern or the NBA set up the ticket price for the scalper. That was doubtlessley the choice the Chinese scalper itself and as a reporter you should have that knowledge and not blame NBA for this ignorantly. I think this ｒｅｐｏｒｔ just another case of America bash and hope it wont discourage more NBA games in Shanghai
At 11:38 AM , Editor said...
You are certainly correct about the black market price of a ticket. However, do you believe that the price of "common" tickets in the range of 180 RMB to 3000 RMB is affordable for most residents of Beijing or Shanghai?
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