Breakers are waved back in

The Boston Breakers plan to pick up in April 2008 where they left off when the Women's United Soccer Association folded four years ago. The Breakers yesterday were named among eight teams of a relaunched league that will include Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey, St. Louis, Washington, and possibly Philadelphia.

The league will not be as ambitious as the former WUSA, which had major corporate backing but was also vulnerable to the exigencies of having teams controlled by publicly owned companies. The business plan for the league predicts success with crowds averaging 4,000 per game.

"The model for attendance figures is somewhat conservative," said Joe Cummings, general manager of the original Breakers and president of the new team. "Some cities will be able to average 5,000 to 7,000 and we can beat that here. Our average paid attendance was 6,000 [for the Breakers' 2001-03 matches].

"There is a five-year plan that is sustainable and gets us to the break-even point quicker [than with the former WUSA setup]. Sponsor money and the expense side will be very different this time. A lot of money was spent to market the [WUSA], but that can be done from a grass-roots level, and we can get a better return on the investment -- that was Boston's model, and others are getting the message."

Angela Hucles and Kristine Lilly, United States national team members who performed for the Breakers, attended yesterday's press conference in Boston and hope to join the team.

"The league made an impact the first time and this is another chance to make an impact," said Lilly, who will play in an all-star game Saturday and attend the Women's World Cup final draw Sunday in Wuhan, China. "My heart hasn't changed and the hearts of the people who are involved are connected to soccer and the women's game. I'm optimistic that this will be a great league in every respect.

"Women's sports need to be out there. I grew up with male role models. I thought I was going to play baseball for the New York Yankees but wait, there were no girls out there. The mind-set didn't connect, but now we have the WNBA, women's ice hockey, the LPGA being promoted, and girls can think of playing at another level. They may not make it at this level but they are drawn to be there."

Local investors include managing partner Michael Stoller, a vice president of Newton Girls' Soccer; former Harvard player Lyman Bullard, a partner at Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP; Bill Hellman, a partner with Greylock venture capital; Louis Hernandez, chairman and CEO of Open Solutions Inc.; Gary Loveman, CEO and president of Harrah's Entertainment; and Alex Zecca, vice president of Tudor Investment Corp.

Cummings said the team's home field will be determined by next month and coach named within two months. Cummings last month contacted Pia Sundhage, the WUSA coach of the year with the Breakers in 2003, but Sundhage has since been named an assistant coach for China's national team.

"I don't think there will be any lack of candidates," Cummings said. "But I want to have a coach in place in a month or so because they have to get on the college trail."

Cummings, who also has worked as an executive with the Revolution, said the league will be closely involved with Major League Soccer.

"Synergies could have been executed," Cummings said of the MLS-WUSA relationship. "But you have to remember where the MLS was in 2000 compared to where they are now.

"This is about persistence. A dedicated group of coaches, players, and fans said after [the WUSA folded], this is not how it ends. It's also about achievement, the athletes playing in the league and those who will play in the future. And it's about second chances -- our national team is No. 1 in the world and the Breakers are going to be No. 1 in the league. In my talks with potential investors and hundreds of talks with fans, the question that was always asked was, 'Will the league be back?' We have answered that question today."