A Kings deal to love

Kings ticket prices have remained fixed the last three seasons, but many fans say they still feel priced out of Arco Arena.

Given that chatter – and coupled with the nation's shaky economy – it seemed like a good time for a more personal look at the cost of an NBA night out in Sacramento.

My bottom line?

The Kings' average ticket prices are the league's seventh-highest, but there are still ways to attend a game on a piggy-bank budget.

On March 7, I abandoned my media credential and courtside seat for a date in Arco's upper reaches, where people watching and fan interaction rivaled the entertainment provided by the game between the Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves far below.

What was discovered is that a person could attend – and enjoy – a Kings game while keeping the cost about the same as for a night at the movies or a casual dinner out.

That's quite a feat, considering the Kings' average ticket price is $59.80, according to Team Marketing Research, which annually publishes NBA ticket prices.

My date and I paid just over $21 each – $42.25 total – for our Arco experience. It wasn't a deluxe package, and it took some extra planning, but it was a night of NBA basketball.

The key was purchasing $10 tickets – yes, they exist – for seats that in some cases are next to ones costing $25.50.

The Kings reserve 500 $10 tickets for each game, and a fraction of that inventory remains available for the eight home games left this season, said Mitch Germann, the Kings' vice president of business communications.

Two days before the Kings played Minnesota, I found $10 seats by perusing the official Kings Web site. Ticketmaster also was still selling those cheap seats in the arena but with a $4 service fee added to each ticket.

Hoping to avoid the extra charges, I clicked on the Live Support function on the Kings' home page, a service added in September allowing ticket sales staff to assist fans in a real-time chat room.

A box popped open introducing me to "Ean J," who turned out to be season ticket sales account executive Ean Jones.

In an e-conversation, Jones said fans can avoid the $4 fee by purchasing the tickets at the arena box office.

After making sure $10 seats were available, Jones sold them to me over the phone, helping me avoid an extra trip to Arco. The transaction was with my debit card, $20 for the two tickets, and Jones placed them at Arco's will-call window.

Jones was unaware I work for The Bee until I talked to him again several days after the game. Assessing Jones' service, Germann said he had gone above and beyond in providing help, though it is the kind of service the Kings strive to provide.

The service was helpful and fast that time, but on other attempts to use Live Support, the wait was up to 10 minutes.

The night of the game, I left an hour before tipoff hoping to find a way to avoid paying Arco's $10 parking fee. That was easier than anticipated because of an empty parking lot on Arena Boulevard, a place known to other Arco patrons. I did not see a sign that warned of restrictions, and none of the other bargain shoppers parking around me appeared to worry about it.

"I'm not against paying (for parking), but it helps in this economy," said Citrus Heights resident Lou Gearing, who parked near us. "After seven years of paying for parking (inside Arco), someone told me about this. I thought I could save a little money. After 40 games, that adds up."

There were easily 30 cars around ours, although the lot still looked empty.

"If it's raining, I will park in the arena," Gearing said.

Otherwise, the walk to the arena is not much farther – about 60 feet – than the most remote reaches of the Arco lot.

A short wait in the will-call line, and we had tickets in hand for Section 219, Row R, Seats 15 and 16, which included an aisle seat.

There is certainly a difference from my courtside media seat, where you run the risk of a player tumbling onto your laptop. Up here, there is the danger of someone spilling beer on your lap.

The view was decent enough to allow me to watch and enjoy the action, with the added benefit of narration from the drunk guy behind me screaming, "We want Bibby back."

We were surrounded by seat-hopping boys and girls basketball players from Loomis, along with their weary-eyed parents.

Lawanda Tassinari, mother of one of the 13-year-old players, said going to the game with the group was fun but reminded her of how much she misses having season tickets.

"We had them for 10 years but gave them up before this year," Tassinari said. "We miss it. We can't afford it anymore. They are too expensive."

She wasn't the only person who said she felt that way. It was hard to find anyone who said ticket prices were reasonable.

John Hernandez said he wasn't looking forward to adding up how much he would spend for his family of five by the time the final buzzer sounded on the Kings' 111-103 loss. Although his family tries to cut corners by eating dinner before going to the game, it's still "just expensive," Hernandez said.

Our $42.25 tally included the tickets ($20), two large beers and an order of jalapeño-topped nachos ($22.25), certainly within range of taking a date to the movies or grabbing a decent bite to eat.

Now, if only we had chosen a more entertaining game.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Melody Gutierrez, (916) 326-5521.