Michigan teams’ attendance drops

LANSING, Mich. – Signs of the recession can be seen in the seats and even hanging on the walls at sports arenas in Michigan, where the economy is stuck in a long and brutal losing streak.

The Detroit Pistons failed to sell out a game this month for the first time in more than five years. A banner reading “Thanks, Fans!” now hangs inside the Palace of Auburn Hills in place of one that updated the sellout streak, snapped at a franchise-record 259 games.

The Detroit Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup champions, play in front of a few hundred empty seats most nights. Promoters with Michigan International Speedway and the Detroit Tigers are scrambling to stave off possible attendance drops this summer when the economy is projected to be even worse.

Shaken consumer confidence is changing fans’ behavior across the nation and forcing promoters to adjust with lower ticket prices, cheaper concessions and creative marketing. It’s happening even in Michigan, where loyal fans have kept their pro teams at or near the top of league attendance despite an economy that hit the skids well before the rest of the nation slid into recession.

Michigan, hammered by the loss of thousands of auto-related jobs, has had the nation’s highest jobless rate for much of the past three years. Unemployment reached 10.6 percent in December, the state’s highest rate since late 1984.

“We were resigned to the fact we would never make it through the end of the season with the sellout streak because of the economy,” said Tom Wilson, Pistons chief executive. “It started when gas went to $4 a gallon.”

The brief but budget-blowing rise in gas prices came after Hurricane Ike in mid-September, shortly before the start of the NBA preseason. The economic news has since worsened with thousands of people losing their jobs, plummeting home values, stock markets in turmoil and banks on the brink. It has all added up to send consumer confidence in the U.S. to a record low, and make it challenging for teams trying to keep fans in their seats.

The Pistons’ sellout streak, which began Jan. 19, 2004, ended when roughly 350 seats at the 22,076-seat Palace remained unsold against Miami on Feb. 4.

Signs of declining attendance popped up before the streak ended. Some fans who bought tickets for low-profile games have stayed home and watched on TV rather than spend more money on gas, parking and concessions.

It hasn’t helped that the Pistons have stumbled to a 27-24 record, well below their recent standards.

The Pistons had kept the sellout going this season by offering ticket specials and marketing deals. Some promotions tied gas and grocery store gift cards to ticket purchases; another during last year’s playoffs offered four seats, four hot dogs and four sodas for $99.

Ford Field had sold out 50 consecutive Detroit Lions games before the streak was snapped Oct. 26 against Washington. The Lions wound up with seats available and blacked out on local TV for five of their last six home games, a fitting end to a miserable 0-16 season.

OK, let’s chalk that up to on-field performance rather than the economy.

But how about the Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup champs? Attendance in 2007-08 dropped more than 5 percent.

Attendance has bounced back this season, thanks to the Wings’ 37-11-7 record and revamped ticket pricing.

But turnout is still less than the 20,000-plus average that packed Joe Louis Arena earlier in the decade.