The WNBA is "pushing" the Sparks into the new Staples
Center despite "protests" by Sparks President Johnny Buss
and his father, Jerry Buss, who want the team to "remain in
the Forum," according to Barbara Kingsley of the ORANGE
COUNTY REGISTER. Johnny Buss "estimated" there is a 70%
chance that the Sparks will move into the Staples Center by
2001, but the league "wants the Sparks to pack up earlier,"
as the Lakers will be moving into the new arena next season.
WNBA Dir of Media Relations Mark Pray: "The players play in
the same area as the NBA team. That's the rule." Johnny
Buss said he is "not going to get into a legal battle with
the NBA about who is going to play where," and added,
"Initially, we said that we would play here (at the Forum)
as long as we own the building. They seemed to agree with
that. We want to do what's good for the league" (ORANGE
COUNTY REGISTER, 5/14). In Long Beach, Pamela Lewis writes
that "in the meantime, Buss is trying to boost attendance at
the Forum," as the Sparks placed ninth among 10 teams in
attendance last season. Buss says the Sparks' advertising/
promotional budget has been increased by 50% to $1M. Buss:
"At 8,000 (fans), we're just not going to cut it,
financially" (Long Beach PRESS-TELEGRAM, 5/14).
