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Stephen Curry’s basketball camps
Is he really deciding how much each camper pays?
3:33 PMIn 2013, before he was an All-Star, NBA champion and league MVP, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry hosted a four-day camp in Pebble Beach, California. The overnight camp received praise for its quality and affordability, notably from ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell.
Stephen Curry's four-day overnight camp from 8/17-20 will cost $695 per camper.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 16, 2013
Having affordable local youth camps is a great way for athletes to build real relationship w/community. Not enough do it.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 16, 2013
Three years, three All-Star appearances, an NBA championship and two league MVP trophies later, Curry is now receiving criticism for the cost of his annual summer camp. Last week, Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett criticized Curry for hosting a camp in Hawaii, where Bennett lives in the offseason, and charging $2,250 per camper, airfare not included.
“I see a lot of different athletes come through Hawaii whether it’s Steph Curry or whoever it is,” Bennett, who hosts a free, day-long summer football camp annually in Hawaii, told Honolulu’s KHON-TV. “They all come here and it makes me mad, because I live in this community and I understand this community — that there’s so many kids who can’t afford to pay such a high amount of money. In my mind it’s like, how much money do you need before you start giving back for free? And I think a lot of athletes should start focusing on that.”
So how did Curry go from being hailed to an outcast in summer sports camp world? His rapid rise in fame might be to blame. The better he got, and the more games the Warriors won, the more money campers were charged to see the superstar. Chapter One of Business 101: Supply & Demand.
In 2014, the summer after Curry’s first All-Star appearance, the price was still $695 per camper. In 2015, the summer after the Warriors won the NBA title and Curry won his first league MVP, the price was $1,175 per camper. Two thousand dollars, let alone $1,175, is a lot to pay for a camp no matter whose face is attached to it. But let’s take something into account:
Each of Curry’s camps over the past three years has been branded as a “Warriors Basketball Camp,” and, in his defense, this is the first year the camp was branded as “The Overnight Camp featuring Stephen Curry,” not as the “Stephen Curry Overnight Camp,” which is what it’s been called in the past. So technically, the Warriors hosted this year’s camp, and therefore the team, not Curry, might be calling the shots when it comes to pricing. Let’s also remember that in 2014, Curry hosted a camp in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, which cost only $110-$125 per camper.
Regardless of who is making the business decisions surrounding the camp, Curry clearly felt bad about the high-priced camps. He posted a flier on Instagram for a camp hosted by his brother, Seth, who plays for the Sacramento Kings, with the caption, “Won’t cost you 2K and it will be a great time learning from a really TALENTED player.”
With the NBA salary cap set to go up next year, and Curry in position to sign a huge deal, maybe he’ll answer Bennett’s call next summer: Make his camp free.