Twitter is a buzz right now, with speculation that LeBron James is going to sign with the New York Knicks. SeatGeek is based out of NYC, so this issue hits pretty close to home. Unfortunately, tickets are not on sale yet for the NBA, however, we did a quick data table to project potential ticket prices for the Knicks if LeBron James comes to the city. The data table displays projected prices on the interior that correspond with a respective baseline price and % potential increase (i.e. $119.00 corresponds with a $68 baseline price and a 75% increase in average prices). Last season, the Knicks transacted tickets prices on the re-sale market averaged $68 (I have highlighted that row in the table below). The left row data is potential baseline prices, assuming that there could be some change season-to-season even without LeBron. The top column %s, represent the potential increase on ticket prices with LeBron – i.e. “The LeBron Premium”.

• It is not hard to imagine a 50% increase in ticket prices – if this is the case, average re-sale prices will top $100 based on the premium over $68
• Initial homestand games in the city would garner particular hype, looking at the $68 2009-2010 baseline, we could speculate initial games trading at a 200% premium or more and topping the $200 mark on average

Of course, right now it is all speculation in regards to the actual price impact, and if LeBron will even end up in New York. We will certainly provide updated projections as he signs with a team, and actual transaction data as soon as tickets go on sale.

Thoughts or comments? Share below or reach out to us on Twitter at @SeatGeek and check back with us whenever you need MLB tickets, concert tickets or NFL tickets this summer and fall.

One of the more interesting stories to surface during the NBA Finals is the story of Tyler McGill, a diehard Boston Celtics fan from Rye, New Hampshire, who took his friends up on a bet and walked more than 200 miles from Boston to New York City in only seven days.  If McGill completed his trek, he would be given three courtside tickets to each of the Celtics’ home games during the NBA Finals (Games 4, 5 and 6).  For McGill, who arrived in NYC Tuesday morning, trying to win the bet was a no-brainer.  ”Come on dude, what would you do for Celts tickets?  I would have walked even further,” McGill said.  For a less athletic or enthusiastic fan, however, perhaps walking on a 30 mile-per-day pace for a week straight is too much, even for NBA Finals courtside seats.  As a result, we wanted to take a look at whether or not walking from Boston to NYC was worth it, from a monetary perspective.

Of course, McGill’s tickets are not listed on the secondary ticket market, so we had to compare his tickets to other comparable tickets to see how much money he actually saved by winning the bet.  McGill said that his tickets are courtside, second row, at midcourt across from the benches.  For tonight’s Game Three, there is only one listing for tickets in that section (section 1), row 17, for $1118 per ticket.  Additionally, there are tickets available in section 2, row A (first row courtside) for $4468 and section 3, row B for $1107 each.  With that, we can estimate that for McGill to buy his three tickets on the secondary market, it could cost as much as $4000 or $5000!

During these finals, we have been taking note of price fluctuation of tickets listed on the secondary market as the series progresses.  The data has shown that prices have increased each day that passes for each game of the series.  For McGill, that means that his three tickets to Game Four and Game Five are worth even more than $4000 on the secondary market!  In fact, there are tickets listed for Game Five in section 1, row 1 (which is the first row behind McGill’s courtside seats) for $6088 each.

For anyone that thinks McGill was crazy for walking from Boston to NYC in one week, perhaps this data proves that he isn’t.  Upon winning the bet, he received in total nine exclusive tickets that he would have had to otherwise buy on the secondary market for at least $4000 each – which totals $36,000!  To compare, the median U.S. household income is $31,410!  All things considered, I think McGill is even more happy to just be at the games.  He plans to “…be in Shannon Brown’s head all day,” and “…ride Kobe [Bryant] like a pony out there.  The Celts are going to have an extra man on the court with them at all times,” he said of himself.  Be sure to look for him if you’re at the game or if you are watching it on TV – he’ll be wearing a reflective police vest that the Sherborn police gave to him as long as he promised to wear it to the first game he attends.

CORRECTION - McGill gets only one ticket per game.  Nonetheless that’s still approximately $12,000 worth in tickets on the secondary market, which is around $54 per mile that he walked.  Not bad, eh?  Also, if you are watching Game Three, he can be seen on the near side of the court, across from the benches, in a neon green Summer Sessions Surf Shop t-shirt, with the reflective police vest over that.