With attendance down 15%-20% in some cities and once-
booming sales of league apparel "slumping," the NBA is
facing "its first real crisis," according to Stefan Fatsis
of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Owners say that half of the
leagues's 29 teams "are losing money, in many cases for the
first time." Fatsis: "And the summer hasn't even arrived,
when ... Michael Jordan may decide to retire and a labor war
may erupt." Fatsis adds that, "All of this has hurt
companies that have made a killing on NBA merchandise,"
including Starter Corp, which posted a 14% drop in total
stales last year and a $37M loss, and Champion Products,
whose NBA replica jerseys "are expected to fall for a second
year in a row" (Stefan Fatsis, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/24).
CBA: The NBA and the players' union met in N.Y.
yesterday for their third formal CBA session, "and
discussions moved toward the danger zone," according to
Steve Aschburner of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The sides
met for three hours and began discussing "drugs and
discipline, which are likely to be among the hot points in
reaching a new agreement" (AP/STAR TRIBUNE, 4/24).
WNBA: RDV Sports Senior Exec VP Pat Williams said that
Orlando's new WNBA team has already received over 1,000
season ticket commitments. Williams: "[I]f that continues
for five days, we'll have the franchise next week" (ORLANDO
SENTINEL, 4/24). In Minneapolis, John Millea reports that
the Twin Cities' new WNBA franchise has received "nearly"
600 ticket deposits of $50 apiece (STAR TRIBUNE, 4/24).
