McBride said that the arena has been pretty packed for all the team's home gamesNBAE/getty images
Las Vegas has made the WNBA Aces "feel very welcome" in their first season there, as team owner MGM Resorts Int'l has "gone all in," according to Doug Feinberg of the AP. The city has posted signage "all around Las Vegas featuring the team, a giant Aces jersey on the Statue of Liberty in front of the New York, New York casino," and offered "top-of-the-line accommodations for the players." MGM spent over $10M on the Mandalay Bay Arena to "make it WNBA-ready, adding a state-of-the-art video board and making sure nearly every seat has a great view of the court." MGM Resorts Int'l President Bill Hornbuckle said, "We're going to do it right. With a WNBA team, it's not about core economics for us, it's about visitation. It's about getting the community behind us and showing once again that Las Vegas will support sports teams." WNBA President Lisa Borders said, "Everything they've done so far has been incredible. It's been first class all the way." Feinberg notes MGM has "made home games an experience." L.A. Sparks F Candace Parker said, "They're doing a good job advertising everywhere in the hotels. ... They're doing a good job. They got a good fan base going." Feinberg notes the Aces average "roughly 5,600 fans" per game. Aces G Kayla McBride said, "It's been pretty packed for all of our home games, whether we're playing on ESPN, or whether it's just a game" (AP, 7/5).
BRIDGING THE GAP: In Las Vegas, Sam Gordon noted McBride and Aces C A'ja Wilson recently took to Twitter "to campaign for financial equality among genders in professional sports and beyond." The NBA reportedly generated $7.4B in '17, compared to $25M generated by the WNBA, and that "revenue gap drives the disparity in salary." WNBA salaries are capped at $110,000, and McBride said that it is going to "take time for WNBA salaries to increase, and is practicing patience while using her voice and platform." She said, "I don't think it's necessarily anything the WNBA is doing or not doing. I understand the supply and demand of the entertainment business that we are in. It's just crazy how little people know about our league and players" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/4). In Pittsburgh, Tim Benz notes Lakers F LeBron James will make $154M over four years "because the NBA has a ton of revenue," while players like Wilson are "only getting a fraction of that because the WNBA only brings in a fraction of the NBA's revenue." Benz: "It's as simple as that. ... This isn't a gender pay-gap issue. This isn't tennis, or soccer, or skating, where the revenue and TV ratings and attendance between the men's and women's sports are closer. It's the WNBA versus the NBA. It's night and day." If Wilson is "upset WNBA players aren't getting paid enough money based on cash coming in, that's a different argument" (TRIBLIVE.com, 7/5).
