The Sixers announced Monday that they won't be raising ticket prices for 2009-2010. That's good news for season-ticket holders and other fans, but isn't it almost a no-brainer?

“We recognize that these are very challenging economic times and we know people have many different options for their entertainment dollars,” Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko said in a release. “We value each and every one of our fans and we are personally committed to working with them so they can enjoy the Flyers, the Sixers or the Phantoms. Our ‘Fan Relief’ offers are tailored to their needs and desires based on their feedback.”

Luukko also announced that neither the Sixers nor the Flyers would raise ticket prices for the 2009-10 season. In fact, the Sixers will make more tickets available at the $15 price level.

There's always been this idea that professional sports are recession proof, but maybe that's because we haven't had times like these in the modern era of obscene salaries and high ticket prices. Something has to give and it should be the athletes and the high-salaried execs. But no, the answer for many struggling sports teams has been to lay off low-level staff, you know, the kind who live paycheck to paycheck like so many of us. (As far as I know, the Sixers have not done this, but a number of teams have either done it or talked about it.)