TURNKEY Sports Poll April 2009 - current events in sports, media upfront, ticketing, and motorsports

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 2009
Current events in sports, media upfront, ticketing, and motorsports

Who will win the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament?

North Carolina - 50.45%

Connecticut - 21.88%

Michigan St. - 12.05%

Villanova - 11.61%

No response/Not sure - 4.02%

In your opinion, how successful was this year's World Baseball Classic?

5 - Extremely successful - 1.34%

4 - 16.52%

3 - 46.43%

2 - 24.11%

1 - Extremely unsuccessful - 5.80%

No response/Not sure - 5.80%

The NFL is contemplating converting 1-2 preseason games into regular season games. Is this a good idea?

Yes - 78.03%

No - 20.18%

No response/Not sure - 1.79%

What is the most important qualification for being the Executive Director of a Players Association/Union?

Legal experience - 33.18%

Front office/league executive experience - 29.60%

Union experience - 19.28%

Playing experience - 5.83%

Other - 5.38%

No response/Not sure - 6.73%

Was DeMaurice Smith the correct choice for Executive Director of the NFLPA?

Yes - 25.11%

No - 12.56%

No response/Not sure - 62.33%

What is most challenging to sell in a down economy?

Sponsorships - 58.74%

Season tickets - 32.29%

Media upfront - 4.93%

Single game tickets - 2.69%

No response/Not sure - 1.35%

Which of the following strategies do you think will be the most effective for selling tickets in a down economy?

Add value to tickets - 52.25%

Reduce face value of tickets - 31.53%

Increase sales force - 9.91%

Increase marketing/advertising budget - 2.70%

Reduce inventory - 2.25%

No response/Not sure - 1.35%

Which strategy is most likely to be implemented today?

Add value to tickets - 50.23%

Reduce face value of tickets - 39.82%

Increase sales force - 4.52%

Reduce inventory - 2.26%

Increase marketing/advertising budget - 1.36%

No response/Not sure - 1.81%

In general, do giveaway items drive attendance?

	June 08	April 09
Yes	65.24%	50.45%
No	28.33%	45.95%
No response/Not sure	6.44%	3.60%

Is there too much premium inventory at stadiums/arenas/etc.?

Yes - 65.61%

No - 29.41%

No response/Not sure - 4.98%

Which of the following do you find most likely to happen in the next five years?

The primary ticket market for single game tickets will be replaced by what is now the secondary market and properties will auction off all single game tickets. - 17.19%

Properties will begin to sell "options" to buy single game tickets that are currently not on sale. - 15.38%

The government will step in and ban the secondary ticket market. - 3.17%

None of the above will happen. - 44.80%

No response/Not sure - 19.46%

How will this year's average price on the secondary market compare to last year's? Will this year's be:

Significantly higher - 1.36%

Slightly higher - 4.98%

The same/no change - 14.93%

Slightly lower - 52.04%

Significantly lower - 23.08%

No response/Not sure - 3.62%

The Indy Racing League and Champ Car merged in February 2008. How successful has the new entity been?

Unsuccessful - 32.57%

Successful - 11.47%

No response/Not sure - 55.96%

Should NASCAR take a more active role in creating awareness for reducing the carbon footprint of automobiles?

Yes - 57.99%

No - 28.77%

No response/Not sure - 13.24%

Drivers who were successful in other racing circuits (Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr) have not been as successful in NASCAR as initially predicted. Will this prevent other premier drivers from switching racing series' in the future?

No - 44.29%

Yes - 31.51%

No response/Not sure - 24.20%

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

	April 08	Feb 09	March 09	April 09
Optimistic (5, 6, or 7)	81.61%	55.32%	55.75%	59.08%
Neutral (4)	9.20%	12.77%	11.06%	16.82%
Pessimistic (1, 2, or 3)	8.62%	31.49%	31.49%	23.63%
No response/Not sure	0.57%	0.43%	1.70%	0.45%