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Over the past 12 years we have seen the WNBA expand and contract and change the overall business model of the entire league. The firs thought was to run the league and its teams out of a centralized office, then it was thought that pairing up WNBA franchises with team of the NBA was the way to go, now it seems the best way for this league to grow is to find interest third party ownership groups and place WNBA teams in cities that do not feature NBA games.
David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA was in Tulsa over the past week discussing the idea of placing a WNBA franchise there. The ownership group there is facing a 9-1-09 deadline to be bale to field a team for the 2010 WNBA season.
While Tulsa may be a city without NBA representation ultimately it may be far too small to be able to support a WNBA team. With a population of just 385 thousand people in the immediate area, Tulsa would be the second smallest population center to feature a WNBA franchise behind only Uncasville, Connecticut.
In Connecticut the average attendance has been slipping over the past few years. In 2007 the Sun were able to attract 7,970 fans per home game on average. In 2008 they were only able to draw 6,426 to the Mohegan Sun arena. That is a trend the WNBA should keep in mind.
While Tulsa may be too small, it seems there is some interest in landing a WNBA franchise in other cities. There is a group of investors that would like to see a WNBA franchise in Toronto, Canada.
On top of that it makes logical sense for the WNBA team to expand into Tennessee where the success of the women’s collegiate game may foster a rapid bunch of fans for the pro game.
Other cities such as Baltimore, Maryland have also been mentioned in WNBA expansion talks.
Comments
BOSTon!!!!!!! You have the most accomplished team in history with the celtics ... Then red sox.... Patriots... Bruins... Why not the Boston bombers ??... The celtics are 1 of the most accomplished teams on the world ... Why not throw a wnba team there???
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