- Pierce says the league will sell tickets for seats on the team bench
- Celtics legend says up to four seats could be sold for a premium price
- Pierce says tickets will cater to upper-class celebrities
NBA legend Paul Pierce may not be fit for work at ESPN, but the NBA might be better off bringing him on as a consultant. Speaking with his longtime teammate and friend, Kevin Garnett, Pierce proposed a wild idea about a new way the NBA could monetize the basketball experience for fans.
With a broad smile, Pierce explained the concept of selling tickets to sit with players on the bench and how it would sell at a ridiculous rate…
“The NBA will sell seats on the bench with players one day… they could pick one of these four seats on the bench and at the end, there’s gonna be a premium.”
KG was clearly against the idea, as seemingly many players would be, but Pierce never wavered from his position.
“People are paying for that… that’s a $20,000 seat. It’s only for regular season. 20 stacks and you can sit right in the middle of the bench. That’s gonna be lit because you’re gonna have celebrities sitting there.”
It’s a nice idea in theory for Pierce, but hardly anyone is going to pay $20,000 to sit on the bench when they can just pay to sit courtside. Not to mention that $20,000 is the same price as some season tickets.
For the league and the teams, allowing fans to share the bench with players is a huge risk considering the potential for inappropriate behavior. As bad as fans can act from the stands, one can imagine how much worse a situation could become if a fan on the bench decided to act out or provoke someone on the sidelines.
NBA Fans Are Split Over Selling Bench Tickets
While a spot on the bench next to your favorite team will appeal to many fans, some see it as nothing more but another financial opportunity for the NBA.
Lol they don’t care the nba wants all the money they can
— JJ (@IWormyI) August 14, 2023
https://twitter.com/KDtrey5Five/status/1691156053566853120
This is a bad idea. The kids or toddlers will probably bother the bench players
— TheLastRide (@s3ow_c0ne) August 14, 2023
It’s not crazy to imagine the NBA trying something like this, but it’s still incredibly unlikely given the pushback it’d get from the players (and the NBPA). Still, it’s interesting to think about how such a system might work and if it might become a potential part of the NBA experience one day.
For now, fans will just have to be happy with watching it the old fashion way…
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