Ken Berger

Average paid attendance is down 3.7 percent in the NBA through the first quarter of the regular season, sending gate receipts plummeting 7.4 percent, according to league documents obtained by CBSSports.com.

Net gate receipts, the money teams make from ticket sales, fell to an average of $828,985 per game, down from $894,823 at the same point last season. Only nine teams were up or flat in average net gate receipts through Nov. 29, while 21 teams saw a decline.

The numbers are important because they reflect how even teams with relatively healthy paid attendance – such as the Mavericks, who are averaging 15,373 – are suffering due to pricing pressure from the recession. Dallas’ paid attendance is down 8.2 percent, but its gate receipts are down 15.9 percent.

They’re also important because ticket revenue factors into the overall basketball-related income (BRI) figure that is used to set the salary cap and luxury tax thresholds for next season. The NBA has stood by its projection of a decline in overall revenue this season between 2.5 percent and 5 percent, which would result in the salary cap declining from its current $57.7 million to between $50.4 million and $53.6 million. But a bigger than expected decline in BRI would seriously hamper certain teams’ plans to be big spenders in the 2010 free-agent market.

The hardest-hit franchise so far is the Detroit Pistons, whose net average gate receipts are down a staggering 42.8 percent year-over-year, according to the figures reported by teams to the league office. The Pistons made an average of $537,263 per game on ticket sales through their first eight home games, down from $938,833 at the same point last season. The Pistons, located in the epicenter of joblessness, have seen paid attendance slip 22 percent, to 14,821 from 18,993 in the first month of 2008-09.

The other teams suffering the most at the gate are the Sacramento Kings (average gate receipts down 36.2 percent), Minnesota Timberwolves (down 24.4 percent), Phoenix Suns (down 23.8 percent), Los Angeles Clippers (down 23.3 percent), Milwaukee Bucks (down 23.2 percent), and Golden State Warriors (down 22.3 percent). Clearly, the Suns’ bottom line has not benefited from the team’s 15-7 start, nor have the Bucks been able to translate excitement over rookie point guard Brandon Jennings into ticket revenue.

The Atlanta Hawks (15-6), long challenged in the attendance department but off to their best start in a decade, have seen a league-high 26.8 percent increase in net gate receipts – to $468,036 per game, up from $369,157 at this point last season. Atlanta is selling an average of 10,573 tickets per game, up from 7,900 at this point last season. The other top gainers in net gate receipts are the Denver Nuggets (up 20.3 percent), Orlando Magic (up 17.7 percent), Portland Trail Blazers (up 12.3 percent), and Cleveland Cavaliers (up 11.8 percent).

UPDATE: Mike Bass, the NBA's senior vice president for marketing communications, said gate receipts are down less than the league projected.

"All of our teams have been very responsive to the financial concerns of our fans," Bass said in a statement to CBSSports.com. "The majority of our teams have held or lowered ticket prices this season, and all have introduced a number of creative, family-friendly ticket options in response to the financial difficulties our fans are facing. The response has been extremely positive as attendance is off slightly from last year, which was our third highest attendance in history."

League-wide, average paid attendance through Nov. 29 was 13,187, down 3.7 percent from 13,699 at this point last season.

The five best:

Cleveland: 18,157, up 10.4 percent
Portland: 17,714, down 0.5 percent
New York: 17,523, up 4.2 percent
Boston: 17,067, up 0.8 percent
Bulls: 16,272, down 2.4 percent

The five worst:

Memphis: 6,879, up 6.8 percent
Sacramento: 7,606, down 21.1 percent
Milwaukee: 8,331, down 26.7 percent
Philadelphia: 8,701, down 16.4 percent
Charlotte: 8,969, up 4.7 percent

The disparity between high-revenue teams and low-revenue teams is one of the key issues looming with owners and players preparing for negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. As expected, owners have notified the players’ association that they will not extend the current agreement, which expires after the 2010-11 season.

Compared to full-season figures for 2008-09, the number of teams netting less than $500,000 in gate receipts per home game has grown from five to eight, with the Sixers, Kings, and Bobcats joining the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Bucks, Pacers, and Hawks in the under-$500K club. But pricing pressure also has affected the high-revenue clubs. Compared to full-season totals from ’08-’09, the number of teams netting at least $1 million per home game has shrunk from 12 to seven, with the Spurs, Thunder, Rockets, Warriors, and Suns dropping out of the $1 million club.