As the WNBA's second season tips off June 11 "there are
no longer questions about the league's viability in a
crowded sports market. ... The question now is can the
league raise the bar even higher?" according to David Moore
of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The league projects to draw
more than 10,000 fans a game in '98. WNBA President Val
Ackerman: "Interest is not only holding, but building."
Moore adds the league has also "made valuable inroads into
the college game" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/13).
MERCURY RISING: The WNBA Mercury's season-ticket sales
are expected to approach 9,000 -- "double last season," when
the team led the WNBA with an average attendance of 13,703.
Overall, the Mercury expects to have no more than 5,000
individual tickets available for each game, and season-
ticket sales "are on pace to double leaguewide, although
expansion teams in Washington and Detroit skew that
statistic" (Jeff Metcalfe, ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/13).
SHOCK-ING DEBUT: In Detroit, Pistons President Tom
Wilson said that the Shock, who begin play this season, have
sold more than 7,000 season tickets -- 2,000 more than
management "expected under a best-case scenario and 4,000
more than the league mandated." Wilson also said that the
Shock have generated about $1M in ad and promotional
revenue, "well above the team average in the league last
year" (CRAIN'S DETROIT BUSINESS, 5/10 issue).
ON TARGET: Orlando's WNBA expansion team, which will
join the league in '99, has obtained almost 3,000 of the
5,000 season-ticket deposits necessary to meet WNBA
requirements. RDV Sports Senior Exec VP Pat Williams "is
spearheading the grass-roots effort to drum up interest" for
the unnamed team, and Olympic gold medalists Michelle Akers
and Dot Richardson have been selected as honorary
spokespersons for the cause (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 5/13).
