WNBA hitting new heights

NEW YORK -- At center court on the stage that is Madison Square Garden, players in practice uniforms pulled fans wearing WNBA jerseys and T-shirts out of the stands and onto the hardwood, and as the hip-hop music blared, they all danced together -- Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes, little girls and teenage boys, players and fans.

This is the WNBA. Small and personal with its fans, big and forward-thinking with its vision.

Tonight the WNBA has its All-Star Game, but this celebration is much more -- it commemorates 10 years of women's professional basketball. That's seven years longer than any other women's league has lasted, a surprise to many, including some players.

``I really thought we would be somewhat of a summer league," Leslie said, ``with reversible jerseys, and maybe play in small arenas that maybe hold 2,000 people."

When the WNBA bounced its first orange-and-white ball in 1997, many thought the league would deflate quickly. After all, this had been done before. Remember the Women's Basketball League in the late 1970s? And when doors opened at newly christened, NBA-operated WNBA franchises, the fledgling league had the American Basketball League with which to compete.

The ABL thought talent would be enough to survive. The WNBA knew better. The ABL premiered in 1996 and attracted players by offering more money than the WNBA. In its inaugural season, ABL players made between $70,000 and $125,000. In the WNBA's inaugural season, pay ranged from $10,000 to $50,000, plus incentives and room and board.

The ABL attracted better players and tried desperately to spin that into success, to the point that ABL cofounder Gary Cavalli challenged then-WNBA president Val Ackerman to an All-Star Game. . Ackerman denied the request.

But it wasn't about talent alone. The WNBA was backed by NBA money and marketing, so in the year and a half of the ABL and WNBA's coexistence, the WNBA won the race for television contracts and big-name sponsorships. The ABL folded at midseason in 1998, creating a flood of players looking for WNBA contracts. In the 1999 WNBA draft, 70 percent of the players and 20 of the first 25 picks came from the ABL.

The demise of direct competition and the infusion of a whole league of talent (including Dawn Staley and Yolanda Griffith) fueled the WNBA's rise above expectations.

In 1997, the WNBA's eight teams averaged about 9,600 fans per game. In '98 (10 teams) and '99 (12 teams), attendance jumped to more than 10,000 per game. In 2000, when the league expanded to 16 teams, attendance dropped to more than 9,000 and hovered there until 2003, when the league shrank to 14 teams and averaged 8,800 fans at each game. The decrease continued in 2004 and reached an all-time low last season, with an average of 8,174 fans.

But WNBA president Donna Orender isn't concerned.

``You have to look at sports as a property that can reach fans in a myriad of ways, and when you look at that, our numbers are growing," Orender said in a preseason press conference. ``And we are focused on our attendance, and I think this year you are going to see a jump, and see the numbers start to go the other way. You can't ignore the fact that our numbers have also grown double-digits in terms of our ratings on television. Our Internet traffic, which is already a significant number, has doubled. And our end number has grown over 20 percent in just a few years time."

That end number is the WNBA's fan base. And while arenas might not be as full, Orender points to television ratings as evidence for growth. Ratings for last season's WNBA All-Star Game, which was held at Mohegan Sun, doubled from 2004, and ESPN2 viewership was up 27 percent for the finals and 30 percent for the playoffs. Still, only about 15 percent of regular-season games are televised, and increasing that number, Leslie said, is key in advancing the league.

``It'd be nice to see like we see in baseball," she said. ``The same teams play each other back-to-back for four games and we watch those highlights, and we're just saturated with baseball. I would love to see a little bit of saturation with the WNBA. Just for people to see what happened around the league and a few highlights, and I think if that was national . . . that would help with our fan support."

Support is something the WNBA has consistently needed -- not just from fans, but the NBA. When the WNBA originated, salaries and sponsorships came from the NBA and teams were formed only in cities where NBA teams existed. In 2002 the WNBA made changes that didn't just rock the league's foundation, they created the possibility that a new foundation might have to be laid -- players wanted more money, free agency, and more freedom to pursue endorsement deals.

When the collective bargaining agreement was settled, the players got what they wanted. The NBA turned teams over to NBA ownership groups. If they didn't want to foot the bill for the city's sister team, the team would either fold or be moved to non-NBA cities. As a result, the Orlando Miracle became the Connecticut Sun and the Utah Starzz became the San Antonio Silver Stars, and three teams folded (the Portland Fire and Miami Sol in 2003, and the Cleveland Rockers in 2004).

``That's what the league needed," said Rebecca Lobo, a WNBA original who retired in 2004. ``When we were up to 16 teams at the time, the talent was a little bit too diluted. I think right now the league is where it needs to be with 14 [teams]. Maybe we'll get up to 16, but I think that right now that's where the league should be.

``At the time, you didn't want to see teams move, you didn't want to see teams fold, but it's what the league needed. And the collective bargaining agreement favors the league staying around for awhile. Players would like to make more money, but with the situation they're in with the league, I think it's a pretty good relationship."

The 2006 collective bargaining agreement calls for players with three years' experience or less making a minimum $31,800 (the first four draft picks this year make $42,400) and players in the league four or more years making a minimum $47,244. The most any player can make is $91,000. Increasing salaries will always be an issue when collective bargaining comes around, said Swoopes, but that doesn't mean the league isn't on solid ground.

``I think we've had our ups, and we've had our downs, but for the most part, every single player that's here is very grateful that we've had the opportunity to play in the WNBA, and as individuals we want to continue to do what we can to help the league grow," said Swoopes, one of seven players remaining from the WNBA's inaugural season.

Currently three teams are independently owned, the Sun, the Washington Mystics, and the expansion Chicago Sky. Despite its independence, the WNBA still gets a $12 million yearly allowance from the NBA. But as sponsorship holds steady and marketing continues to carve out branded slogans such as ``We got next" and ``Have you seen her?" Orender has no doubts the league is here to stay.

``I think what we've really been able to get our arms around is what motivates people to be aligned with and participate with the WNBA," Orender said. ``It revolves across all [demographics] and genders, and we're really focusing on this whole idea of being inspirational. You can be a 9-year-old girl who gets inspired by the WNBA. You can be a 50-year-old guy who loves this pure brand of basketball. You could be a woman who loves sports or a teacher, coach, or parent who loves the accessibility of our players and the role-model nature of our players.

``When you look across all of these different groups, and we know that they're there in numbers, we've only begun to scratch the surface in terms of how much broader it can be. We will continue to be very bullish about this property."