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People who have watched the Clippers frequently over the years will have undoubtedly noticed the long scorers table in between the playing teams’ benches. That table has now been broken up, creating eight new courtside seats. Seats which will bring in the Clippers quite a bit of cash.
Right in the middle of the court, on either side of the players’ benches, these seats will come with every luxury (club access, in-seat service, parking spot, etc.), and are correspondingly expensive. Darren Rovell of ESPN has reported that the seats will go for around $175,000 on the season, or over $4,000 a game if including preseason. The only teams with more expensive seats are the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks.
These seats will be called “Star Courtside” seats, termed such because they are going to be on television broadcasts a lot. While it’s possible some die-hard fan with some money to spend goes for one, it’s much more likely that companies or celebrities buy up the spots. That’s probably what the Clippers are hoping for, to be honest. The more celebrities and “big-rollers” they get at their games, the better for their brand.
This is yet another sign of the Clippers’ continued relevancy and appeal. They used to be not just second to the Lakers in terms of star power, but in an entirely different realm altogether. While the Lake Show still boasts the bigger fanbase, the Clippers have continued to make inroads. And that is looking to continue even with the absence of Chris Paul.