The Golden State Warriors are in the midst of their greatest run ever with three-consecutive NBA Finals appearances and two NBA Championships to show for it. Plus, they’re the odds-on favorite to do it again next season, they’ve locked up Steph Curry and Kevin Durant for the foreseeable future, improved their roster even more, and they’ve got a brand-new arena coming around the bend.
If there was ever a time when a sports franchise had all the leverage in the world, this is it. And the Warriors are taking full advantage of that with their new season ticket requirements.
Per Reuters, the Warriors are introducing the controversial practice of personal seat licenses (PSL) to the NBA, and any fan who is interested in purchasing season tickets for their new arena (the Chase Center in San Francisco, set to open in 2019) will have to commit to doing so for at least 30 years. Per ESPN, the PSL price will be $15,000 or less for half the tickets, more for the other half. It also doesn’t include the actual price of season tickets, which are sure to be through the roof as well for the foreseeable future.
How this will work is that fans will pay the PSL cost up front for the right to buy tickets. The Warriors will vest some of the money paid over the 30 years and return the total, which will match the original license fee, to the season ticket buyer. In other words, the PSL is actually an interest-free loan that you’re making to the franchise for three decades.
If that sounds kinda strange and/or shady to you, well, you’re not alone. It’s often seen as a way for sports franchise owners to co-opt ardent fan interest by bilking them for extra money to help finance new stadiums or ease their own financial burden.
Fans will be able to opt out of their license or sell it on before the 30 years is up, but if they do so they will still have to wait for the full timeframe to expire before their fee is returned to them.
Technically, the Toronto Raptors also use PSLs, but those are done in conjunction with the Toronto Maple Leafs and are only for some of their best seats. The Warriors are the first to bring this to the NBA on a broad scale. We’ll see if others follow them.
