Report: Cavs on pace to break franchise record for ticket revenue in any season, including LeBron era

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a force to be reckoned with at home all season long. Cleveland owns a record of 25-4 at Rocket Arena on the season, the second-best home record of any team in the NBA.

Cavs fans attending games have been treated to a lot of success on the court, and the organization also appears to be enjoying a lot of success in terms of ticket revenue. Cleveland is on track to break the franchise record for ticket revenue in any one season.

“Thanks to a franchise-best 44-10 start and three NBA All-Star selections, the Cavaliers are on pace to post their highest revenue-generating ticket sales year ever — and that includes the LeBron James era,” wrote Joe Scalzo of Crain’s Cleveland Business.

“They also lead the NBA in local TV ratings, rank sixth in overall retail and merchandise sales on NBAStore.com, and have sold out 129 straight games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.”

According to Chris Kaiser, the team’s chief marketing officer, there are folks who are incredibly invested in the squad and closely follow the outcome of every game Cleveland plays.

“People are invested in us night after night, even when they’re not in the building,” Kaiser said. “They’re living and dying with each outcome and that’s where we want to be.”

He also says there’s more to Cleveland’s success business-wise outside of the fact that the team has stacked up wins like pancakes. He alleges that the organization has been preparing for this moment for years.

“We call it being ‘big-wave ready,’” said Kaiser. “The way we’ve set ourselves up as a business, the way we talk about things — we’re ready for this team to be a championship team for many years to come. That’s the assumption we’re operating off of.”

The ticket revenue record that the Cavs are on track to beat was actually set last season.

“Although the Cavaliers sold out more than 200 straight games during the second LeBron era — when the not-yet-renovated FieldHouse had 1,130 more seats — their best year for ticket revenue was actually last season, when they went 26-15 at home and advanced to the second round of the playoffs,” Scalzo wrote.

“And while the increase in ticket prices plays a role, Cleveland actually leads the NBA in net gate revenue post-COVID-19, with a three-year compound annual growth rate of plus-38%.

“Revenue-wise, single game ticket sales are up 57%, and the team said it is seeing impressive growth in membership plan sales (plus-89%), suite lease sales (plus-125%), group sales (plus-102%). The Cavs have also sold 21% more group tickets this year and are on pace for their best single-event suite year in franchise history, as well as their best year for ticket and suite sales.”

Interestingly, for as dominant as the Cavaliers have been at Rocket Arena this season, they’ve already lost too many home games to end the campaign with their best home record in franchise history.

The 2008-09 team led by James still holds the franchise record for the best home record in a single campaign at 39-2. Cleveland won 66 games that season and finished with the league’s top record but bowed out to the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Playoffs.

The 2024-25 Cavs are trying to do what that particular James-led team couldn’t and be the last team standing in June.

So far, it seems as if Cleveland has a real chance to capture the 2025 NBA title, as on top of all their home wins, the Cavaliers also are in a tie for the best record in the league at the moment.