Miami: The new basketball Mecca?

Lebron James is headed to the Miami Heat to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, forming a super team.  That being said, is it time to examine Miami as a  basketball power house city?

…because before today, regardless of what you may have been told, it wasn’t.

But now?  Everything is out the window.  Any statistics regarding television markets, Miami Heat attendance…anything.  The books will be re-written in the 2010-2011 season, and beyond.

Lets just take a quick look…

–Well, for starters, the Heat have already sold out all of their season tickets for the upcoming season.  Compare that to the 2009-10 season where they ranked 15th in attendance, averaging 17,730 fans a game, which put them at 90.5% capacity.  On a related side note, how timely is it that the Heat just unveiled their new online ticket system (which was actually down for most of today, but still),

Expecting an uptick in season ticket sales once this summer’s NBA free agents decide where they will be playing, the Heat has officially launched a new online season ticket sales system.

Called Heat SeatPick, the system — designed by the team’s information technology department — allows fans to check seat availability in real time and purchase tickets without needing to speak with a sales representative. The system also includes a 3-D seat viewer that shows views from the AmericanAirlines Arena stands.

“In recent years, consumers have become increasingly comfortable with the secure online purchase of big ticket items, so we designed Heat SeatPick with this trend in mind,” Heat President of Business Operations Eric Woolworth said in a statement. “Season tickets are a substantial investment often accompanied by questions about seat locations, sightlines and inventory, and we believe the platform directly and thoroughly addresses these concerns.” (via Sarah Talalay)

–Need more? Forbes ranked the Miami Heat 12th out of all NBA teams, with a team value of $364M.  After the Lebron decision? that number has increased to roughly $400M which would have the Heat ranked 9th as far as team valuations go, with the Cavs also dropping down to $370M.

–Miami also has the 12th largest radio market and 17th largest television market in the United States.  While certainly not the largest market it, along with a 5.5M person metro-population, is certainly sizeable.

–Furthermore, you can also expect Miami to challenge the Lakers for the “team jersey sales” title (Lebron & Wade were #2 and #5 respectively in jersey sales for 2010), and for Lebron’s new Miami Heat #6 to challenge Kobe Bryant for most popular NBA jersey.

–Lets not forget the obscene amount of national television coverage the Heat will now garner.  Lede in’s on Sports Center, numerous showings on TNT and ESPN; regardless of opponent.  Of course, its all with good reason; you’d be hard pressed to argue that the Eastern Conference Champion for the foreseeable future wouldn’t have to go through Miami…if it wasn’t Miami itself.

–If you’re looking at endorsement deals, or sponsors, again, Miami is in the argument.  If you’re dealing with individual sponsors are there two players on a team that have more endorsement deals and more endorsement money than Wade and James?  And corporate sponsors will find the Heat to be an attractive option as well, especially if the team is able to produce a championship or two.

Talented players, high attendance, a sizeable market, lucrative merchandising and branding, and a large amount of television coverage.

Sure, maybe basketball wasn’t invented in Miami, or even made popular in Miami, but five years from now, we might be looking at this day as the day that basketball was re-invented.

Miami.  The new basketball mecca.