WNBA's Efforts To Secure Ownership For Bay Area Team Fall Short

Folding Of Monarch Ends Plan To Move Team To Bay Area In Time For Start Of '10 Season

Three weeks of "efforts to secure Bay Area ownership" for the WNBA Monarchs "fell short," according to Michelle Smith of FANHOUSE.com. The "goal was to move in time for the start of the 2010 season," but that proved to be  "too quick" of a turnaround. WNBA President Donna Orender: "The amount of time it would have taken to close the deal would have handicapped our other teams. There were a lot of variables for this to come together. We had to have everything fit, with no snags on this kind of timeline." Orender said that she had "more than one investment group interested in a Bay Area team and that she is convinced the Bay Area will be a 'fantastic market, one that will be enormously successful.'" Orender said that she has talked to potential ownership groups from "San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, and that 'sponsors have stepped up and made themselves and their interest known to us.'" The WNBA "likely has until the end of the 2010 WNBA season to secure a financially sound ownership deal, as well as a venue." Orender: "There are no guarantees here. Until it's done, it's not done." Meanwhile, Orender confirmed that the 12 remaining WNBA teams "will continue to hold their roster size to 11 players, which means the league will have 11 fewer spots available next year" (FANHOUSE.com, 12/9).