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Per Darren Rovell, the Phoenix Suns want your business AND they want you to have a good time.
Next Thursday, the Phoenix Suns will be the first team in NBA history to guarantee its fans that they will have fun at the game against the Mavericks, or they can get their money back.
The idea of "Satisfaction Guarantee Night" came out of a staff meeting following a 112-106 overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 14.
"After that game, I think we were all struck by the fact that so many people were leaving our building with a smile on their face," said Suns president Jason Rowley, who took over as team president this summer. "Normally, when a team loses fans are down. But not with us. And that was an eye-opening moment."
Possibly, this has something to do with underwhelming attendance figures because the Suns don't have any bankable stars and are not favored to win most of their games. But mostly it's the lack of ticket-selling star. David Stern figured out a long time ago that people come to see players, not teams. If you don't have a star, you don't have an audience. The Suns would like to change that, if at all possible.
"That's a big part of why we're doing this," Rowley said. "Just because our players don't have huge name recognition doesn't mean we're not fun to watch and can't compete. Sure, people relate to star power, but we believe in the team aspect and we're marketing this team as a team instead of a group of individuals."
This also very likely has something to do with national TV coverage. The Suns/Mavs game on December 6 will be aired on TNT - one of only a half-dozen games on national TV this season. The last thing the Suns want is to "show off" their empty seats to a national audience.
The Suns are currently pace to average their worst attendance numbers (15,092) since the arena opened twenty years ago. The economy is not helping, for sure. But talent plays a big role as well.
So buy some tickets for that game, Suns fans!
Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Ed note: Seth decided to write up this story at the same time I did. Apparently he's a quicker typist because he emailed me a heads up and wrote the damn thing all while I was fumbling with the story editor before heading to my real job. Apparently, Seth can't let us go. We complete him. Go read his version too, and let us know which one is better (but remember, I AM the one who slaves for this damn community while Seth just pokes his head in occasionally)