Sports still a hot ticket here

[mavsfanforever]

Sports still a hot ticket here
Struggles seen nationally so far aren't playing out in D-FW


07/05/2003




National television ratings fizzled for some top sports events, including championship-round declines of 36 percent in basketball and 19 percent in hockey.

Tickets have gone unsold for such marquee events as the Indianapolis 500 and Lennox Lewis fight in Los Angeles. Baseball and Major League Soccer aren't drawing as many fans as they did last year.

Across the country, the sports business seems to be in a swoon – perhaps because of a blah economy, perhaps because of a glut of events in the marketplace.

Then there's Dallas-Fort Worth. With a few exceptions – notably the Texas Rangers – local teams and events have packed in the fans."

If there's a sports recession, it's hard to find it in the Dallas-Fort Worth market," said Jon Heidtke, general manager at Fox Sports Net, the cable outlet that airs Mavericks, Rangers and Stars games.

The Stars and Cowboys are riding sellout streaks measured in years, not games.

May's EDS Byron Nelson Championship drew strong crowds without Tiger Woods. With Annika Sorenstam teeing off against the men, the Bank of America Colonial turned into a hot ticket.

The usual crowd of 200,000 showed up at Texas Motor Speedway for April's NASCAR race. In Frisco, a new minor league team is bringing in 9,000 a game.

And Dallas-Fort Worth sports fans aren't turning away from their televisions – at least when it comes to the local teams.

The Mavericks' ratings on Fox Sports Net are better than ever after rising 19 percent last season. The Stars' ratings are also at an all-time high, gaining 15 percent in the last campaign.

Dallas-Fort Worth loves sports, of course, but Dave Arnott, who teaches sports management at Dallas Baptist University, says he's heard that said about so many other cities.

Appealing mix

Beyond an affinity for sports, Mr. Arnott and others see an appealing product mix – intriguing teams, modern facilities, big-name stars.

That's what fans want to see. That's what makes the ticket sellers and TV programmers jobs easier.

The Cowboys' great tradition still sells, and the team now offers its fans the hope that new coach Bill Parcells will restore the franchise's winning ways.

Both the Mavericks and Stars – led by such stars as Dirk Nowitzki and Mike Modano – were among the top teams in their leagues.

"This is a town that embraces winners and marquee players," Mr. Heidtke said. "When you have one or both of those factors working in your favor, you'll attract an audience."

Winning cures a lot of ills in professional sports, Mr. Arnott agreed. If the Stars and Mavericks were struggling, he said, maybe Dallas-area sports would be in the doldrums.

"Economically, this region has not been spared," Mr. Arnott said, "so the expendable dollars are down here, too."

The Rangers, in fact, cite a losing team and the weak economy as reasons they're suffering through another tough summer.

With the team once again a distant last in the American League West, attendance has been going downhill for a third year in a row.

Heading into Friday night's July 4th sellout, the Rangers averaged 26,958 fans a game, down 2,210 from last season.

On the tube, the Rangers' Fox Sports ratings are off 10 percent from last year, though they're 23 percent above 2001.

Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie is lagging behind last year, down 5.3 percent in attendance and 6.9 percent in on-track betting. Major League Soccer's Dallas Burn has drawn at just 7,894 fans a game playing in their temporary home at a Southlake high school football stadium.

Reason for hope

In other markets, teams that are down often can't see much reason for hope, but all three of the lagging local sports expect their troubles to be temporary.

The Rangers figure the fans will return to the Ballpark in Arlington if the team can find a way to win again.

Lone Star Park looks forward to a boost from hosting next year's Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, one of the biggest days in racing.

And the Burn is counting on a new soccer-only stadium in Frisco, set to open in 2005, to cure its attendance woes.

E-mail ralm@dallasnews.com

[Mandyahl]

i saw that article in the dmn today and it bored me to death. i couldn't even get all the way through it.

[ames7]

I read it. It just kind of confirms what we already knew. There are a lot of fair-weather fans. Dallas has just been very lucky in sports.

[Mandyahl]

well unless you count the rangers sucking always or the mavs sucking through all of the 90s or the cowboys sucking for the last several years...

[ames7]

Yeah, but we're lucky in the sense that usually someone's winning. At least when the Cowboys started petering out there in the late 90s, that's when the Stars & Mavs started getting better. Dallas fans are good in that, when their teams are winning at least, they buy tickets, they watch the games on TV, they buy merchandise. Unlike, say, NJ, where they can't sell out NBA playoff & Stanley Cup Finals games.

[Mandyahl]

ok, ok. you are right.

[mavsfanforever]

I cannot believe I got replies to this thread. I got bored too and just cut and paste.

[Mandyahl]

well i pretty much reply to everything. so yeah.

[hero = dirk]

yeah dallas is usually very supportive of there teams that are good... and i agree w/ u ames... once one team starts sucking another team steps up. it's nice that way.

[u2sarajevo]

Originally posted by: Mandyahl
well i pretty much reply to everything. so yeah.

Underrated line, underrated line. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[Mandyahl]

haha u2.