The Perth Wildcats are shooting for a profitable 25th year in the NBL after posting record membership growth and selling out all corporate boxes for the first time in many years.
In what has been a brave move, the club has increased the price of its season tickets by as much as 80 per cent and more than doubled the price of a corporate Captain’s Club package from $400 to $1,198 for two people.
Wildcats chief executive Nick Marvin said the tough decision to increase seating prices was made after a review of its financial model, but the club had since been rewarded by a record 25 per cent increase in memberships this year to almost 1,900 members.
He said the achievement did not come without savvy marketing and sales; however, its greatest results came from going back to basics and contacting its old membership base and inviting them back to the fold.
“The players got involved too by personally thanking those who did sign up. Some people could not believe they were on the phone to their favourite players and got a real kick out of it…the players didn’t mind that at all,” Mr Marvin told WA Business News.
Taking the sport to Western Australia’s corporate market has been another key focus for the club over the winter break, as well as talking up the fact that corporates sit courtside at Challenge Stadium and not at the perimeter.
However, the club’s biggest challenge to date has been securing a naming rights sponsor who was prepared to contribute between $350,000 and $500,000 over the next three to five years.
While they are talking to interested parties, Mr Marvin considers the campaign unfinished business until one is found, ideally for the long-term.
“We’re looking for WA brands that are struggling with exposure and want to give back to the grass roots,” he said.
For those with a smaller budget in mind, a limited number of general memberships and around 28 Captain’s Club platinum seats, hosted by long-term Wildcats captain Ricky Grace, are still available.
Mr Marvin believes basketball and the Perth Wildcats are finally back as contenders for the number one summer sport in the city, boasting a talented team with every chance of securing a fifth national championship.
