As sports franchise marketing challenges go, this one is right up there: dismal record, no superstar player, coaching merry-go-round, sharp drop in attendance, aging venue and a recession.

That's the world of the Sacramento Kings, just two seasons removed from eight consecutive NBA playoff appearances and less than seven years after a serious Western Conference Championship run, when the Kings were national TV regulars and playing in a consistently packed Arco Arena.

This year, the Kings are national TV no-shows, and attendance is averaging less than 12,000 at Arco, which seats 17,317. Last month, Reggie Theus became the third Kings head coach shown the door in 31 months, leaving with a 6-18 record.

Bad times … and a bad economy to boot.

"We recognize the effect that the economy has had on our fans … in addition to everything else," said Mitch Germann, Kings' vice president of business communications. "We just want to continue to be as creative as possible and help our fans."

Germann said the Kings and Maloof Sports and Entertainment marketing officials have responded with a multidimensional program designed to "add value" to the game-going experience.

The Kings doubled the number of $10 tickets this season to 1,000. Key sponsors Carl's Jr. and Subway offer discounts and gift cards for Kings game attendees. Single-game ticket packages, a first for the Kings this year, include food and merchandise.

A "Dine and Dunks" promotion for all home games includes two single-game tickets and two vouchers for dinner at the Skyline Lounge in Arco. The package goes for $99.

Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, said those are all good moves, right out of the sports franchise marketing playbook.

But, he added, they only do so much amid a recession and a lack of that proven seat-filling commodity: winning.

"I think they're challenged in this environment to begin with," Swangard said. "When you look at the types of assets that teams would want to have in their portfolio, Sacramento is lacking most of them. … (Instead), they have an older venue, bad record, coaching turnover. It's not a recipe for disaster but a recipe for a challenging time."

And the numbers at stake are quite large.

The Kings' franchise value dropped 9 percent last year, according to Forbes magazine's annual financial evaluation of NBA teams. The Kings' estimated value of $350 million ranked 16th among the 30 NBA teams.

By comparison, the New York Knicks were ranked first at $613 million, and the Milwaukee Bucks were at the bottom at $278 million. The average team value is $379 million, according to Forbes.

Forbes cited an 18.2 percent drop in Kings attendance last season, compared with the 2006-07 season, as a key factor.

Roger Noll, a sports economist and economics professor at Stanford University, recently estimated that the Kings are on pace this year to see a decline of $3 million in ticket revenue. And people not filling seats also results in a loss of revenue from parking, concessions and team merchandise.

Noll characterized the recession and the Kings' poor on-court performance as a "double whammy" for the franchise.

So, what to do?

"What you're trying to do is figure out what steps can you take, not expensive steps, to enhance the entertainment value of coming to a game," Swangard said. "You're imploring your staff to be the best customer-focused staff in the league.

" … You still have to market (the team) as a community asset. You're asking your players to step up and be out in the community as often as you can."

As is typical during the holiday season, Kings players appeared at numerous charitable events and various retail centers in November and December.

Doug Elmets, president of Elmets Communications in Sacramento and the man who served as spokesman for the failed tax measure in 2006 to build a new arena for the Kings, suggested that team co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof become more visible throughout the community.

Call The Bee's Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184.