Steve Ballmer
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
But the way we pulled it together, there's no hockey. I didn't want hockey. Not that hockey's not a great sport. Compromises you'd have to make to the arena. You have to spread it out. You have to spread people out because the rink is bigger than the court. Very different. Basketball. We put in this, we have an acre of scoreboard. Yeah.
More statistics. More statistics. We went 4K from the start. I didn't realize it's an acre. You have an acre of scoreboard. Between the inside and the outside, it's almost an acre.
More statistics. More statistics. We went 4K from the start. I didn't realize it's an acre. You have an acre of scoreboard. Between the inside and the outside, it's almost an acre.
All the way up. I call it the student section. We call it the swell. Clippers, waves, get it? Swell. The swell is right in the middle. They do a chant before the game starts. They're chanting. They're making noise. A bunch of them, they'll find weird things they want to bring to games. Funny posters. And you basically sign up. First come, first serve.
All the way up. I call it the student section. We call it the swell. Clippers, waves, get it? Swell. The swell is right in the middle. They do a chant before the game starts. They're chanting. They're making noise. A bunch of them, they'll find weird things they want to bring to games. Funny posters. And you basically sign up. First come, first serve.
If you're not there early, you're not in the swell that game. So we oversell the section. It's $1,000 for the year, which is only $25 a game. Hell of a price. Wow. You can't go to an NBA game for $25 a game.
If you're not there early, you're not in the swell that game. So we oversell the section. It's $1,000 for the year, which is only $25 a game. Hell of a price. Wow. You can't go to an NBA game for $25 a game.
You've got to bring the value. You've got to bring the value.
You've got to bring the value. You've got to bring the value.
You put it right on top of the visitor's side, so it makes noise right into the visitor's huddle. We put the swell right behind the backboard. So basically when you're shooting free throws on that end, you're looking right at the swell. And it makes a difference. I saw data that said that the- Lowest free throw shooting percentage of the league for the visiting team is against the wall.
You put it right on top of the visitor's side, so it makes noise right into the visitor's huddle. We put the swell right behind the backboard. So basically when you're shooting free throws on that end, you're looking right at the swell. And it makes a difference. I saw data that said that the- Lowest free throw shooting percentage of the league for the visiting team is against the wall.
Like Steve, this- I mean, it worked. That's what I wanted. What did the other owners think about this? We've had a bunch of people come through, look at the building, and would I be surprised if a number of the new arenas get built, don't have a wall? No, I would be, or at least the student section.
Like Steve, this- I mean, it worked. That's what I wanted. What did the other owners think about this? We've had a bunch of people come through, look at the building, and would I be surprised if a number of the new arenas get built, don't have a wall? No, I would be, or at least the student section.
But you also have to remember, I took some financial hits on this. We have fewer suites, less revenue, and we only charge $1,000 for a season ticket. that gets you pretty close to the damn floor.
But you also have to remember, I took some financial hits on this. We have fewer suites, less revenue, and we only charge $1,000 for a season ticket. that gets you pretty close to the damn floor.
So in terms of the cash outlay- Yeah, in California, you can't have public funding for arenas. That's why we don't.
So in terms of the cash outlay- Yeah, in California, you can't have public funding for arenas. That's why we don't.
Yeah. We took a revenue. Definitely, we could have made more revenue on that side if we'd done things a little bit differently, but it's about basketball. We have a lot of toilets.