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The Minnesota Timberwolves sent out their season ticket renewals on Monday afternoon, looking to improve upon a strong sales mark heading into the 2022-23 campaign.
“As we launch today, we’re doing so with a backdrop of a lot of excitement. ... I think attendance is up almost 1,000 fans a night over last year. We’ve been able to announce 14 sellouts through 32 games and, overall, I think the home-court advantage has been real with a 20-12 record at home to this point,” Timberwolves and Lynx Chief Operating Officer Ryan Tanke told Canis Hoopus on Monday.
With that increased excitement and a stronger core at the heart of the organization’s on-court product, the Wolves are increasing season ticket prices for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Here are the quick highlights:
- The average price increase for next year’s season tickets is around 8%
- 82% of tickets in the building are going up less than $5 per ticket per game.
- Season tickets in the lower level start at just $27 per game
- Over 3,000 lower level seats are under $50 per game
- Renewing season ticket holders (STHs) will again receive 50% off all concessions and merchandise again next season
- New STHs will see a 25% discount on all concessions and merchandise
Despite price increases, the Timberwolves remain committed to making sure catching a game at Target Center is an affordable experience for fans of all ages. The Wolves have the most affordable seats in the NBA, something that the organization is “probably going to continue,” according to Tanke.
The Timberwolves renewed 93% of their season tickets from last season, a mark that placed in the top 10 league wide. Only the Memphis Grizzlies sold more new season tickets than the Wolves did (2,500) head of the 2022-23 NBA season.
Tanke is proud of the growth the organization has had on the floor and in the seats, and is still eager to continue learning more about the fanbase.
“They’re hungry. And some of that is pent up interest and demand of just the team hadn’t competed at a sustainable level,” he told Canis Hoopus. “It’s certainly a basketball city and basketball marketplace and something that it’s amazing when you when you see that come to life.”
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Now that the team is transitioning from one ownership group to another, it’s a time where there decades of experience with Wolves governor Glen Taylor is combining with the new perspectives of minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to create an environment with plenty of creativity and diversity of thought at Mayo Clinic Square.
“Yeah, I think [Marc and Alex] both live in different markets and have been longtime NBA fans in different markets. And so they come at it with a different perspective,” Tanke said. “You want that sort of diversity of thought, then being on the road quite a bit and looking at it through the prism of not just what do we want for Thursday night’s home game, but what vision for Target Center do we have what vision might we have beyond Target Center?
“All of those things, I think, create this ... one plus one equals three environment where you’ve got a number of stakeholders that have very key voices and unique perspectives into what this holistic fan experience is going to be.”
The challenge now becomes to use that knowledge and perspective to build off of what has been an exciting last 12-14 months of Timberwolves basketball. Tanke credited D’Angelo Russell for challenging fans and creating an “interactive connection” them, which resulted in a borrowed tradition from the Minnesota Lynx — all of Wolves faithful standing until the team scores at every home game. Tanke also shouted out Patrick Beverley and the bond Pat Bev helped to forge between the Timberwolves and the greater Minneapolis community in such a short time.
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“Just that connection to the team and the city, and the city and the team, that was very real and palpable. And so you could see that manifest through the play-in, through the playoffs. There were points in those playoffs that were as loud as any environment or arena that I’ve been in,” Tanke said. “It carried into the growth of season tickets and continued [with] the energy that’s been in the building this year. ... So, it’s our job now to keep that momentum going and keep stacking on top of it so it only gets better.”
The Timberwolves are back in action tonight at 7:30 PM CT as they take on the Dallas Mavericks in the first home game for the new-look Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving duo.
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