There's a lot of money riding on the success or failure of the Connecticut Sun, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the team is owned by an Indian tribe that runs a casino.
It has a lot to do with whether WNBA President Val Ackerman is right when she asserts that the purchase of the team, which published reports have valued at $10 million, "begins to prove that there's a market for the purchase of women's pro sports teams."
Earlier this year, the Mohegan Tribe, which owns a casino resort in Uncasville, Conn., became the first non-NBA team owner to own a WNBA team. On top of that, the Connecticut Sun is the first WNBA team that doesn't share a market with an NBA franchise.
That's a potentially huge step for a league that's still struggling to stand on its own, and for a group of NBA owners who stuck with the league in hopes of eventually seeing their red ink turn black.
"The ability now to put teams in markets that may be very receptive to women's basketball is very important to the league," Ackerman said.
Officials from the Sun said they are on track for a successful first season.
"I think a lot of people are watching us, there's no doubt about it," said Chris Sienko, the team's general manager and the director of sports and entertainment for the Mohegan Sun.
On the ticket sales end, the team is approaching season-ticket sales of 3,000. The team is on pace to reach the $1 million mark in sponsorship sales, Sienko said.
At press time, Sienko said the team had about $960,000 worth of pending sponsorship contracts — $810,000 in cash and $150,000 in trade.
The team's goal is to average between 7,000 and 8,000 fans a game at the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena, which by Sienko's measures is a realistic goal.
"We're better off being conservative," he said. "We can't assume that because we're in Connecticut, a marketplace that loves women's basketball, that this is going to be an instant success. That said, I think once people become reacquainted with women's pro basketball and see our product, we will have a tremendous season and seasons to come."
The WNBA's other 2003 start-up teams are also on track for successful first seasons.
The San Antonio Silver Stars have met their sponsorship budget for the year and are close to reaching the $1 million mark in sponsor revenue. The team has signed close to 20 sponsors, 90 percent of which are partners of the NBA Spurs, said Judy Grier, the Silver Stars' director of sponsorships.
The team as of last week had sold more than 5,800 full-season-ticket equivalents and had about 15,000 group tickets sold for the season.
The Charlotte Sting, while part of the league since its inception, considers itself a start-up as a result of the team's ownership change in the off-season. Like the Sun and the Silver Stars, the Sting had to start from scratch from a staffing and organizational standpoint. But unlike the Sun or Silver Stars, the Sting did not have the benefit of tapping into the resources of an NBA team or a casino group.
Even with those fewer ancillary resources, the Sting has increased its number of sponsors from seven or eight last year to 33 this year, and ticket sales are up in comparison with this time last year, said Steve Swetoha, senior vice president of business operations for the team.
"We didn't begin our journey, so to speak, until Jan. 13, so we're just scratching the surface," Swetoha said, "Imagine if we had a full selling season."
