Renewals of Season Tickets Decrease Again, to 92%

If season-ticket renewals are a fair market indicator, the Lakers are a slightly slumping stock, down five percentage points from a year ago.

Season-ticket holders renewed at a 92% rate, marking a second consecutive decline after a renewal rate of 97% last season and 98% in 2003-04.

Ticket prices remained relatively stable -- only two of nine pricing plans were hiked from last season -- but fewer fans reinvested in the team after the Lakers finished 34-48 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

“The pullback teaches you that holding on to your customers throughout the highs and lows is not easy,” said Paul Swangard of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon. “The thought was that Phil [Jackson] in and of himself would stem the tide, but I don’t think people necessarily want to go to a basketball game to watch a coach.... He’s not necessarily providing the optimism that translates into purchase behavior. People are taking a wait-and-see attitude to see what transpires.”

The league renewal average is about 84%, Swangard said.

“I think they’re still a premium product in the NBA portfolio,” Swangard said of the Lakers. “ ... They’re still above average in that respect. They still have a little built-up goodwill in the system.”

The Lakers filled the season-ticket gap fairly quickly.

“We renewed at 92%, but what we lost we refilled easily through our waiting list, back to our season-seat capacity,” said Tim Harris, senior vice president of business operations and chief marketing officer for the Lakers.

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Rookie center Andrew Bynum, two days into training camp and 22 days from his 18th birthday, has looked more aggressive and has held his position in the post better than he did in summer-league play, but he could still be a candidate for the developmental league.

“I have no idea whether he’s going to be able to play in a game or not,” Jackson said. “We’ll find that out during the exhibition season.

“We anticipate that with the developmental league, there’s a great opportunity for him to learn the game down there too. Whether we send him there or not is not a given, but it’s always an opportunity.”

Players in their first two seasons can be assigned to the development league up to three times per season.

If Bynum is sent down, he will continue to be paid his NBA salary and will still be included on the Lakers’ 15-man roster as one of three players on the inactive list.

“He still has a long learning process, about how to play on the floor, what to do when he’s out there, how to stay out of foul trouble, how much physical abuse he can lay out, offensive and defensive rotations and what he has to do in that regard,” Jackson said.

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Forward Lamar Odom, who had shoulder surgery in April and put himself at 80% to 90% healthy coming into training camp, participated in limited contact drills Wednesday.

“He had a running dunk in which someone challenged him and he seemed to have no reflex at all about holding back or being afraid of going in there hard,” Jackson said.

Odom, who played power forward last season, could play both small and power forward this season.

“He’ll be playing out on the perimeter a lot, but how much I don’t know,” Jackson said. “It will depend upon the game.”