TURNKEY Sports Poll April 2006 - Barry Bonds, NFL commissioner

TURNKEY Sports Poll

Turnkey Sports & Entertainment owns the Turnkey Sports Poll, the industry’s continuing survey of senior-level executives and owners which probes the hottest issues inside sports. The results of the poll appear weekly in the SportsBusiness Journal.

April 2006
Barry Bonds, NFL commissioner

If you could join one of the following tables for dinner, which table would you most like to join?

Paul Tagliabue and Al Davis – 32.11%

Bud Selig and Barry Bonds – 29.67%

David Stern and Bill Russell – 19.92%

Gary Bettman and Wayne Gretzky – 14.63%

No Response 3.66%

The X Games is the veteran action sports property. How would you sum up its position on the overall sports landscape?

Holding its own – 51.85%

Gaining status - 25.10%

Losing ground – 20.58%

No response – 2.47%

What is your impression of the Dew Action Sports Tour-was the first year as successful as expected?

No – 38.27%

Yes – 30.04%

No response – 31.69%

Do you feel that the experience of club seats is more enjoyable at a specific sporting event?

No, they are all the same – 31.40%

Yes, Football – 26.03%

Yes, Baseball – 19.42%

Yes, Basketball – 9.09%

Yes, Hockey – 9.09%

Yes, Soccer – 1.65%

No response – 0.83%

During the next five years, what will be the trend in club seating offered at stadiums and arenas?

More club seats – 40.66%

Fewer club seats – 33.61%

Little change in number of club seats – 24.90%

No response – 0.83%

What is the biggest opportunity teams have in ticketing?

Variable pricing – 28.33%

Direct marketing systems – 27.92%

Secondary ticketing – 26.67%

Multi-year season tickets – 3.33%

Season ticket wait lists – 2.08%

Proprietary ticketing platforms – 7.08%

No response – 4.58%

Are you concerned that the average fan is being priced out of professional sports?

Yes – 81.67%

No – 16.67%

No response – 1.67%

Do you think open wheel racing has enough fans in the U.S. to support two series — the IRL and Champ Car?

No – 74.58%

Yes – 10.83%

No response – 14.58%

What is the next big change you think will happen in NASCAR?

More Saturday night, prime time events – 43.75%

Shifting race dates to larger markets – 20.42%

Track developed in New York market – 14.58%

Other – 4.58%

Shorter races – 2.08%

Track developed in the Northwest – 1.67%

No response – 12.92%

Barry Bonds maintains that he has not knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. Do you believe him?

No – 92.08%

Yes – 4.17%

No response – 3.75%

What is the health of the sports advertising market compared to last year?

Somewhat better – 50.00%

Unchanged – 33.33%

Somewhat worse – 6.25%

Much better - 5.00%

Much worse – 0.00%

No response – 5.42%

What media platform offers the biggest growth potential for sports advertising in the next five years?

Mobile – 47.50%

Internet – 42.08%

Television – 7.08%

Other – 1.67%

Radio – 0.83%

Print – 0.00%

No response – 0.83%

What skill set is most important to the next NFL Commissioner?

Labor Relations – 40.42%

Financial Expertise – 20.83%

Consumer Marketing – 17.50%

Electronic Media – 15.00%

Corporate Sales – 4.58%

No response – 1.67%

Which will happen first:

The first female President of the United States – 82.08%

The first female NFL commissioner – 12.92%

No response – 5.00%

The performance of mid-major programs in the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament will affect the tournament bid selection process in the future.

Somewhat Agree – 45.80%

Neither Agree nor Disagree – 27.31%

Somewhat Disagree – 12.61%

Strongly Agree – 7.56%

Strongly Disagree – 4.20%

No response – 2.52%

Thinking about your own particular business, what best describes your confidence level regarding the next 12 months for your own business?

6- Very Optimistic – 42.44%

5- Somewhat Optimistic – 38.66%

7- Extremely Optimistic – 7.14%

4- Neither Optimistic Nor Pessimistic – 5.88%

3- Somewhat Pessimistic – 4.62%

2- Very Pessimistic – 0.84%

Extremely Pessimistic – 0.00%

No response – 0.42%