This season, with the economy in a downturn, the family will cut back to five games.

Although he deemed the $60 spent for tickets and food during a recent Bulls game affordable, Maynard, 40, said every entertainment purchase must be weighed carefully.

"We don't go to as many concerts as we used to. ... We don't travel as much. We don't go to a lot of sporting events. ... You know, it's, 'Watch your entertainment dollar.' "

It's difficult to gauge exactly how sports fans are reacting to the weakened economy, but conversations with fans, local team officials and economic experts suggest that many continue to support local sports teams near or above the rates they have in the past. Others, however, are scaling back or staying home, worried about the precarious economic forecast.

In keeping with national trends, some Triangle sports fans are foregoing vacations and looking to minor league teams and upcoming college seasons for their entertainment. But fears of a national recession, magnified by rising costs for gas and food, make some question whether people will continue to spend money on sports.

"I'm your average Joe fan, and my purse strings have been tightened," Carolina RailHawks president and general manger Chris Economides said. "But we all want to be entertained, we all want to have a good time."

Even in bad times?

Mike Helmar is an economist for Moody's Economy.com, a firm that monitors trends in the U.S. economy. He said nearly half of the nation's economists place the country in a recession, though he said North Carolina has been more resilient than most states to economic downturns, until recently avoiding the impact of declining housing and stagnant job markets.

"We have folks seeing higher necessity expenditures, things like food and fuel that take away their disposable income," Helmar said.

Helmar said the cut in disposable income is forcing people to make hard choices about sports events. But not everyone is ready to cut back.

Rachel Rempel, who was at a recent Bulls game, said she or her husband would have to lose a job before they parted with their Duke men's basketball season tickets.

"We wouldn't get rid of that unless we were in dire straits," the Chapel Hill resident said.

Hard to give up sports

David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California's Sports Business Institute, said, historically, consumers have been reluctant to give up sports.

Carter said he sees sports fans in three ways: casual fans, who are starting to consider how their money could be better spent; hardcore fans, who are trying to figure how to ride out tough times and hold on to season tickets; and corporations, which are trying to justify sports spending to employees and shareholders.

"Absolutely, everybody is thinking about it," Carter said. "Everybody is sharpening their pencils and trying to make sure this is going to work for them. It is at all levels, for sure."

Meanwhile, he said, some sports franchises are considering whether to raise prices to keep up with increased expenses or cut costs to offer bargains to fans.

The Carolina Hurricanes announced last week that they are raising ticket prices next season, increasing the price of some seats 15 to 67 percent. The Canes cited a need to increase revenues in order to qualify for NHL revenue-sharing money.

A Hurricanes spokesperson said it is too soon after the announced increases to determine whether the economy might affect future ticket sales.

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