WNBA continues on in Year 13

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — For all 13 years of the WNBA's existence, the naysayers practically wore sandwich boards with their dire prediction: "The end is near."

Ask anyone outside the league, and the WNBA was always about to fold. Done. Gone. Kaput.

Yet despite all the doom and gloom, if you turn on the TV today, the WNBA All-Star Game will be on. Again.

"It makes you scratch your head a little bit to try to figure out why people are saying the league is folding," said Dawn Trudeau, co-owner of the Storm. "It's a healthy league, and all around attendance is up. We're doing well, and we're playing well. Competition gets better every year. This is a great league."

Wading through a struggling economy, the WNBA is showcasing its ninth All-Star Game today. And while Trudeau's assessment of healthy may be a slight overstatement, the WNBA will continue to evolve another decade.

Attendance is up — marginally. The WNBA averaged 7,945 fans through July 21 compared to 7,938 last season with 14 teams. But the figures are still off from the league's zenith of 10,869 in 1998, when the WNBA had 10 teams.

The WNBA is in its first year of an eight-year deal with ESPN/ABC, selling its broadcast rights for "millions and millions" that will be distributed between the teams. And league president Donna Orender was in Tulsa, Okla., on Wednesday to help investors there announce interest in having a WNBA team.

Seattleites know all too well that the state landed its first NBA franchise last season, the former Sonics.

"Sometimes people forget that if you look at the NFL and NBA, and MLB, how many years they have been existing as leagues and what people said about them at year 5 and 10," said Anne Levinson, Storm ownership chairwoman. "What you see when you see a team folding and another one opening is a very natural evolution of the way leagues work. You see that in every sport. It's not indicative of the health of the league, per se, it's more the shifting of markets and business plans."

"Taps" was trumpeted again, however, in December 2008 when owner Hilton Koch ran into financial trouble with his private business and placed the storied Houston Comets up for sale. Unable to secure another owner quickly, the WNBA disbanded the team that won the first four championships.

The WNBA also worked behind closed doors to get owners to agree to a wide swath of cuts. Rosters were trimmed from 13 to 11, travel expenses were cut, public-relations positions were reduced, and media guides were no longer printed. Add Indiana co-owner Mel Simon stating in March that he couldn't support the Fever after this year unless there was an increase in attendance and sponsorship sales, and the gloomy outlook was understandable.

"Do I think the league is in trouble? No," said broadcast analyst Rebecca Lobo, one of the WNBA's founding players. "But it's not enough to just believe in what the league stands for, you've got to go out and buy a ticket."

The league has bounced back from the dark winter. Kroger signed on as a new sponsor for the Fever, which sits atop the league at 12-4 with attendance slightly up. Phoenix and Los Angeles secured sponsorship deals. The Mercury linked with Phoenix-based LifeLock for an approximate $3 million deal that allows the company to display its name across the front of players' jerseys. And the Sparks reached the same deal with California-based Farmers Insurance.

The Storm, which is averaging 205 fewer fans than 2008, is still searching for a similar deal. They have scored with the community with their "Go Green" environmental initiative and outside-the-box marketing with local nail salons. Levinson said the owners didn't get involved to make a profit, but to give women an opportunity.

"We're at the stage in our history where there are owners who are in this because that's where they want to be and they support the WNBA," said Orender, whose league has six ownership groups that are independent of NBA franchises. "We're 13 years away from the launch model. That's not to say people's priorities won't change."

Even though attendance is up marginally, other measures of fan support are up. Television ratings are 2 percent higher, and merchandise sales also have risen, although the league did not say how much.

Alex Chambers, a 35-year-old school teacher from Phoenix, made headlines as he traveled the country to see a game in every city, writing a blog and taking a year to save for the trip.

"Female athletes in general have resilience," Chambers said. "That is from them playing their game with a spirit and determination, but that's not all they have to fight against. They have to fight against the discount people give them because of their gender. Those two together have built this amazing resilience that makes these athletes such a wonder to watch."

Year after year until maybe one day it won't be a surprise anymore.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com