RebKell's Junkie Boards

[josephkramer44]

The tribulations of the off season have certainly made a mockery of her claims of fantastic success and the league turning a corner and so on. One has to admire her enthusiasm but the way she was speaking you would have imagined the league was on its way to supplanting the NHL as the final member of the big four in the US. From what I have delved from quite a bit of research is that the last two seasons were basically more of the same.

More than one person has pointed out the the Liberty should have been very well positioned to be a fairly profitable team. Quality performance, a great arena, above average attendance and NBA links all worked in their favor. However it appears the opportunity costs of the LIberty (more money to be made hosting other events at the same time) proved to be their undoing. With them and SA calling it quits it might be inferred that very few people are seeing much of a financial boon in the league's future, as the already bloated tv contract shouldn't be expected to increase much (on the contrary ESPN2 is dying as we speak), paid attendance has probably peaked (give or take a couple hundred) and simply not enough other viable and consistent revenue streams.

It may be simply that operating costs in NYC are too high for it to make sense. But with the current business climate surrounding sports, politics and television ratings it could be a hard sell to even an enthusiastic buyer. Of course one could hope a well placed owner or a consortium could buy the team and be willing to operate it with a decent expectation of a modest profit. But is that a realistic hope? A lot of variables to consider in regards to this possibility. From a business perspective it would be much better for the league if the Liberty were somehow able to continue to operate in the greater NYC area. Greater media exposure makes the marketing aspect more profitable. All one can do is hope for the best for the team and their employees (players and other staff).