I was determined to be bad, but I went straight to the Basketball Hall of Fame

Chapter 440 Back on track (first update)
Losing the game against the Timberwolves lifted Min Congda's spirits, and he, who had originally thought about relaxing, regained his vigor.

On the 22nd, he originally planned to go fishing with his friends, but after waking up in the morning, he decided to change his plan, and he was going to work!

So, Min Congda rarely drove to the Clippers headquarters at the Staples Center early in the morning. When he came to the general manager's office, he told Ada to call the team executives and he wanted to hold a meeting.

Rosser, Olshey and others thought that after losing to the Timberwolves, Min Congda must be very dissatisfied and wanted to make trouble at the meeting.

As a result, after everyone gathered, Min Congda did not mention the game, but asked Rosser and others to report the current team's various expenditures and income.

Rosser said: "After the team's ticket price was increased, ticket sales still had some impact. The booking rate of loose tickets has dropped, and the complaints at the ticket office have increased significantly. Some fan groups have protested to us, thinking that we The price is too high."

Due to the shrinking of the season and the reduction in the number of regular season games, in order to "make up" for the loss in box office revenue, Min Congda "creatively" proposed that if there are fewer games, the ticket price will be raised, and the ticket price will be increased by a certain percentage of the number of games.

Of course Rosser and the others couldn't hold back Min Congda, so they had no choice but to increase the fare significantly.

As a result, the home opener was very good, with a full house and a box office revenue of over one million, which made the league very satisfied.

But the next few games were unsatisfactory, especially against the Timberwolves. The team lost and the attendance rate was only 75%.

A 75% attendance rate should be said to be good, but Rosser knows that it is mainly because season tickets are sold more during the offseason.

However, because the season has shrunk, it is impossible for season tickets to increase in price, and instead they have to be sold at a discount.

Loose tickets did not sell well because of the high prices. Many fans who bought loose tickets saw that their opponent was the Timberwolves, and because of the high ticket price, they didn't want to watch it.

Rosser suggested: "Mr. Smart, should we adopt a floating ticket price system? Opponents like the Timberwolves, who are relatively low in popularity, can drop the price of individual tickets one more time, so that more people are willing to buy tickets to watch the game live." .”

Min Congda shook his head and said: "You are wrong to say that. Our ticket prices can only increase, not decrease. If our attendance rate is determined by the opponent, it will be a failure of our team building. Fans come to Stamp If you want to watch the game at the Adams Center, what you really want to watch is our Clippers, regardless of who the opponent is. Therefore, the ticket price remains unchanged, and if you meet a popular team, the ticket price will increase!"

How could Min Congda engage in price cuts and promotions? It is impossible to cut prices in this life. He would rather the tickets rotten and the seats in the center be empty than sell tickets.

Hearing what Min Congda said, Rosser had no choice but to nod, he knew that this was Min Congda's usual style.

From a long-term perspective, this firm price strategy does work, as is the case with the Lakers next door.

But the Lakers have a championship, a glorious history, superstars, fans all over the world, and never worry about selling tickets.

But Rosser still convinced himself, thinking: "Mr. Smart's team building plan is not just for the immediate, but extremely long-term, five years, ten years, or even 20 years? He is only in his 30s, and he can still be in this position." It's been a long time. The Clippers really need to plan for the long run."

Roser has also worked in the Clippers for many years, and he always followed Sterling's command before.

Sterling is typically short-sighted and impatient in basketball, often doing some tricks for petty profits.

In order to keep up with the boss's train of thought, Roser naturally searched and searched for things, focusing more on his eyes.

After all, if he doesn't look in front of his eyes, the boss will fire him.

After two seasons of Min Congda's "transformation", Rosser has been able to understand the meaning of Min Congda's long-term vision.

Looking at the various decisions before, every one of them has been rewarded handsomely. Roser is absolutely in admiration.

After caring about the box office, Min Congda began to turn his attention to a more important matter.

"Rose, last week you told me that the Great Western Forum was thinking of selling. How is it going?"

"Oh, it's almost certain now that the owner of the Great Western Forum does want to sell it. The arena is too old to host enough games and events, and it's making ends meet. But so far, no buyer seems willing to take over. "

The Great Western Forum in Inglewood has not hosted an NBA game since the Lakers moved their home court to the Staples Center.

The location of this arena is very good, the transportation is convenient, and there are many residents around, so it is very convenient to watch the game.

In addition to NBA games, many concerts, exhibitions, speeches, and political activities will be held here.

However, due to the long service life and outdated venue facilities, the Great Western Forum has gradually become a memory of Los Angeles people.

At present, the arena has entered the stage of making ends meet. Everyone wants to sell the arena, but no one in Los Angeles is willing to accept it.

Min Congda was obviously very interested in this arena, and asked, "How much are they bidding?"

Rosser said: "The estimated value should be around 3000 million US dollars...Mr. Smart, do you want to buy this arena?"

Min Congda nodded and said, "That's right! I've always wanted to build a new arena for the Clippers. But how to build it and where to build it are all problems."

Rosser said: "It costs a lot to build an arena. Even the Lakers don't have their own arena. And if they want to build a new arena, why buy the Great Western Forum?"

Min Congda said: "It's not easy to find a piece of land suitable for building an arena in Los Angeles, isn't it? The location of the Great Western Forum Arena has long been proven to be an excellent location. We bought the Great Western Forum and then demolished it. , rebuild a new arena on the original site!"

What Min Congda said surprised all the executives. What kind of operation is this?
Buy an old one and tear it down and build a new one?Isn't this a waste of money?
Min Congda said: "I don't want our new arena to be built in the suburbs, so that fans will suffer from traffic jams to watch the game."

Many new arenas in the NBA have to be built far away from the main city due to site selection.

For some fans in big cities, whether there will be traffic jams to watch the game is a problem that must be taken into consideration.

Some old arenas have long since been built without this problem.

For example, the once famous Boston Garden Plaza was built on top of the train station.

It is very convenient for fans to watch the game when they get off the subway or train.

The same as the Great Western Forum Arena, it has a geographical advantage.

So, after some discussion, everyone felt that this idea was good.

But money is an issue.

Min Congda said: "Didn't the two banks grant us more than 3000 million credits before? Rosser, use it!"

With a bitter expression on his face, Rosser said, "Mr. Smart, if we use the more than 3000 million yuan in loans, our asset-liability ratio will be a bit high."

Min Congda chuckled, "Don't worry, the current debt will become an asset in the future."

But he thought in his heart, let's go high, go high, the debts are high, and we are going one step closer to bankruptcy.

(End of this chapter)