Sports fans may feel slighted by the lockout currently occurring in the NBA, but businesses that base their income on the NBA and the teams are really feeling the heat, too.
“It can be devastating for a small business to lose its peak market, which for me is the first two to three weeks of the season,” says Le Anne Crounse, owner of a Fredericksburg, Texas, sports-apparel retailer. “That’s when everyone is excited, every team is equal and any team could still get the trophy.”
NBA merchandise accounts for 12% to 15% of annual revenue at her company, BestSportsApparel.com. Nine months ago, she ordered $300,000 of NBA inventory. Normally, she would have already sold a third of it but has only managed to get some $20,000 out the door, she says.
“It’s as if you have a good paying job and then you lose it,” says Gary Fineske, a self-employed sports-massage therapist who has been a contractor to the Dallas Mavericks for the past 11 seasons.
At least 60% of his revenue during the season last year originated from the Mavericks. “Now, since there’s no season, there’s a zero there,” he says.
Photo by Jeramey Jannene