How Much Will the Recession Affect Ticket Sales in the NBA and NHL?

Was it me, but when I saw the highlights on television, there appeared to be many good seats open?

Or, was there a Halloween giveaway, and did 10,000 people opt to go to the game dressed as empty seats?

I was wondering about the effect on the recession on hockey and pro basketball, particularly because ticketholders already had committed in 2008 before the recession hit. I do wonder how serious a drop these sports will suffer. Baseball, which you have to believe is more popular, suffered a 6% drop over last season. Given that baseball tickets generally are a better bargain, you'd have to believe that the NHL and NBA will suffer more considerably (as most certainly the NBA did last season).