The WNBA Sparks "are winning like never before but
watching home attendance slide" to an average of 6,570,
according to Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. DAILY NEWS, who
writes that Southern CA has "largely responded" to the
team's success with "indifference." Sparks President Johnny
Buss said that he "was stunned" about a recent report
stating that the team was "in danger of losing" its
operating agreement if attendance "didn't rebound." Buss:
"There has been some extreme irresponsible reporting and
rumors. I highly doubt that somebody in the echelon of my
father, that anyone would try to yank a franchise away from
Jerry Buss in a league he helped [establish]. It is so
ridiculous to even think about." Dilbeck writes that the
Lakers "were an instant success" when Jerry Buss purchased
the team in '79, and Buss "never had to promote" the team.
ESPN/Sparks announcer Ann Meyers-Drysdale said, "It's not a
secret that Dr. Buss doesn't spend any money marketing or
promoting the Lakers. He never has. It's not a knock, it's
just the way it is." But Johnny Buss said that the Sparks
"are actually one of the best-promoted" teams in the WNBA.
Buss: "Certainly, we've had their [Lakers'] support. But
the Lakers are one of the smallest NBA staffs in the league.
So to be able to pull resources from the Laker organization,
the people just aren't there. It's been very frustrating as
compared to other cities in the league" (L.A. DAILY NEWS,
7/27). In L.A., T.J. Simers writes: "I went to the Sparks'
game the other night knowing it would be the only place in
L.A. where I didn't have to worry about traffic, a parking
place or running into any celebrities" (L.A. TIMES, 7/27).
