If you make your living as a quick change artist or riding a unicycle while balancing bowls atop your head, you might want to consider a second job. Due to the economy, one of the many cost-cutting tactics adopted by NBA is to reduce the number of prominent halftime acts, opting against booking high-priced traveling acts in favor of more affordable local options, Fred Whitfield, chief operating officer of the Charlotte Bobcats, told David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal.
From the WSJ:
Yes, things have apparently gotten so bad that NBA teams are not only slashing their halftime budgets but also looking forward to the extra 20-30 tickets a five-minute youth basketball game might generate.So during halftime this season, don't expect to see one of those national traveling acts that cost up to $15,000 per game. For about a dozen games this year, Mr. [Fred] Whitfield has enlisted the Junior Bobcats-a group of youth basketball players who are mostly 8 to 12 years old-to entertain the fans. The kids work pro bono, he says, and as a bonus, their parents usually buy tickets to see them perform. "It saves money and drives in revenue," Mr. Whitfield says.
Some of the other cost-cutting maneuvers make sense -- teams opting to email holiday cards instead of printing paper ones, cutting back on employee perks such as free cellphone texting -- but the payoff is only realized several thousand dollars at a time. Some decisions are more drastic, such as reducing the size of coaching staffs and scouting departments, but the savings still pale in comparison to roster decisions.
With a reduced salary cap and luxury tax, many teams were expected to carry 14 players into the season instead of the maximum of 15. Instead, over half the teams in the league opted for a full roster. Considering the league minimum salary is upwards of $400,000 for a rookie without any experience (and greater than $1 million for players with at least six years in the league), one extra player might equal several regular employees on the marketing or sales staff.
The extent of the league's efforts to reduce costs also highlights just how punitive the NBA's fines can be. Larry Brown and the Bobcats, for instance, were recently handed matching $60,000 fines for Brown's ejection and subsequent comments about the officiating. In most years, $60,000 is a rounding error for teams. This year, it could very well be the difference between someone else in the organization keeping his job or getting the axe several months later.
