NOTES : Supply and Demand Is Working Even in These Times of Tight Money

Although there’s a recession on, you wouldn’t know it by the prices Southland ticket brokers are charging--and getting--for NBA finals tickets at the Forum.

Tickets to the Magic Johnson-Michael Jordan show, which have a face value of $27.50-$106, are being sold for $125-$1,250 by brokers.

If you want to sit near regulars Jack Nicholson and Arsenio Hall, you will have to pay $2,000-$2,500 for courtside seats, which have a face value of $475.

“There is a recession, but you can’t tell,” said Kenny Solky, general manager of Murray’s Tickets. “With no recession, it’s probably bigger than it is now. It’s huge now, but with no recession it would be unbelievably huge if more people had $200-$400 to spend on a ballgame.

“The real problem isn’t the tickets, it’s with the travel (costs). Normally, we’d have sent a lot of people to Chicago. But you had to buy airline tickets, and there was a huge convention and all the hotel rooms were booked.”

Chicago-area ticket brokers charged $300-$1,000 for tickets to the first two games of the finals at Chicago Stadium.

For $125, fans can buy Forum colonnade seats behind the baskets. Corner colonnade section are fetching $200 and upper colonnade seats between the baskets cost $250. Choice colonnade seats between the baskets are going for $550. Upper loge seats behind the baskets are bringing $400, with upper loge seats between the baskets worth $600. Choice loge seats between the baskets are being sold for $1,250.

Although the prices are high, so is the demand for the 17,505 tickets.

“It’s been the biggest championship series of all time,” said Harris Rosner, owner of VIP Tickets in Sherman Oaks.

Four factors have boosted the market.

“You’ve got Magic vs. Jordan, two big-market cities, we had a week to sell the first game with the momentum building from the first two games on the road on TV and the Lakers won the first game,” Rosner said. “All those factors have created the market.”

Where do brokers get the tickets.

“You buy from season-ticket holders that you’ve been buying from all year, so you have an established line of people that you can get the seats from,” said Lance Keller of Murray’s.

Whereas the brokers are licensed to sell tickets, it’s illegal to sell tickets at the Forum, and the parking lot there is patrolled by uniformed and plainclothes Inglewood policemen and private security guards.

Rob Collins, Forum assistant general manager, would not comment on whether the Forum plans increased security measures to combat scalping.

Is the Forum a difficult arena to shoot in for visiting teams?

The Bulls shot 55.7% in beating the Lakers, 114-103, during a regular-season game Dec. 21 at Chicago Stadium, making 49 of 88 shots. The Lakers shot 50%, making 41 of 82 shots.

But Chicago shot 42.4% in a 99-86 loss at the Forum on Feb. 3, making 39 of 92 shots. The Lakers shot 44.2%, making 38 of 86.

Bull Coach Phil Jackson said the Forum isn’t conducive to good shooting because the yellow and orange color scheme is distracting and the rims are tight.

“I think the mustard yellow is a little disconcerting to the eye, and it’s hard to shoot,” Jackson said. “The rims are tight. The players always complain that the rims are tight.”

Said Jordan: “A lot of guys think the rims are a little tighter. But they’re the same measurements, so it’s more or less psychological. We just have to come in and get used to it and block out everything else.

“I played here in the Olympics when the colors were lime green, so I don’t think (the color scheme) has any effect.”

Jordan enjoys the glamour of the Forum.

“It’s fun to play in front of entertainers who enjoy our profession,” Jordan said. “It’s easy to get caught up in all the hype, and that’s one of the areas we have to concentrate on. We have to focus in on why we’re here and what we want to achieve, not who’s watching the game.”

Johnson and Jordan have been engulfed during interview sessions, but Laker rookie swingman Elden Campbell hasn’t been in demand.

While reporters swarm around Jordan and Johnson, Campbell reads the sports section and plays video games during interview sessions.

He said he doesn’t mind being left alone.

“I can sit back and relax,” Campbell said. “You hear a lot of the same questions over and over, so it’s really not something I like to do.”