http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/knicks_raise_season_tickets_percent_OvCyLqaHry4vg73pIhT0NJ
Knicks raise season tickets 49 percent
POST STAFF REPORT
Who says you can't put a price on success?
The playoff-bound Knicks on Friday announced an average increase of 49 percent for season tickets.
CNBC.com reports it is "likely the largest yearly [average] increase in sports history."
The team, which has added superstars Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in the past 10 months, is likely to make the NBA postseason for the first time since 2004.
The Knicks have raised season ticket prices once in the past 10 years, and not in the past six.
The Rangers will increase their season-ticket prices an average of 23 percent as both teams will play in a renovated Madison Square Garden for the 2011-12 season.
The Garden said personal seat licenses (PSLs) would not result from the improvements to the arena.
"This will be a new state-of-the-art arena with wider concourses, new seats, better sightlines, and improved social settings,” Scott O’Neil, president of MSG Sports said in a statement.
"While ticket prices for Knicks and Rangers will be increasing, we will continue to offer a variety of price points for our fans and will not be instituting PSLs.”
The Knicks already are ranked second in the NBA average ticket price at $88. That figure trails the two-time defending champion Lakers, whose average price is $113, according to Forbes.
Knicks season-ticket prices range from $10 (400 level behind basket) to $1,900 per game (courtside).
Since trading for Anthony on Feb. 22, SeatGeek.com shows prices for some Garden games on the secondary market rose as much as 113 percent from the season average. (SeatGeek.com is a ticket search engine that allows fans to find the top secondary markets for the best prices.)
Owner James Dolan had not raised season-ticket prices, sticking by a policy not to not do so when the Knicks fail to make the playoffs.
Before the season, the Knicks sold out of season tickets and created a wait list for the first time since 2001-02. More than 4,000 new season tickets were purchased.
The Knicks have sold out all but two games this season (29 of 31) and expect to sell out the remaining 10 home games despite ongoing construction inside the arena. They are playing to over 99 percent capacity.
Some new Knicks season-ticket plans will start as low as $10 per game. The Rangers' low point is $39 per game.
The Knicks likely will qualify for the playoffs in mid-April. They are eight games ahead of ninth-place Charlotte in the Eastern Conference; the top eight teams make the playoffs.
The Rangers have made the NHL playoffs the past four seasons and are in a battle for the final spot in the Eastern Conference this year.
With Marc Berman
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