RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Rock Hard]

I know this subject is not related to attendance but I'm very curious about the number of people that annually subscribe to WNBA League Pass?

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You can win, as long as you keep your head to the SKY! Be OPTIMISTIC!

[BobScoutingReport]

I am glad that I am not the only person who sees the future of the WNBA as closely linked to ESPN's financial health. Continued ESPN downsizing is sadly more critical than actual attendance. Ms. Borders & her predecessors believe they must show the league as growing its fan base to attract business support.

As for the Dream at GA Tech, my recent research found that the Dream did not get a sweet deal there with rent no cheaper than at Philips. Dream management did not see any other viable options and GA Tech (so to speak) made them pay the shot.

I do not see any teams rushing to fold so long as the rich vein of ESPN money continues to flow. If that stops, all bets are off as to long term league survival at 12 teams.

[toad455]

were there no other arenas for the Dream to play in? Could they have played in Gwinnett?

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LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[Randy]

Gwinnett Arena is 20+ mi north of Atlanta, not anywhere near MARTA and the drive to get there on I-85 makes weeknight (M-F) games virtually impossible. We used to go to minor league hockey games there - it was a 2 hour drive on weeknights at best. They had a WNBA playoff game and a finals game there in 2009 and 2013 respectively, I believe and crowds were poor. So yeah- Gwinnett was out of the question.

BobScoutingReport - is it possible the Dream had a bit of a "sweetheart deal" with Phillips already so Tech looks bad in comparison? I'm not sure who sets the rent on Phillips for the Dream - but I think the city owns the arena so local politics could play a role (Lisa Borders when she was in public office was one of the big movers and shakers in getting the Dream into Atlanta.)

[BobScoutingReport]

I have not gotten any specific information on cost of rental at Philips in a few years. Then it was well into five figures but what you might expect for such a venue. I heard that Gwinnett Arena was considered but ruled out for reasons others had stated.

Dream management saw no other options and perhaps the GA Tech people saw an opportunity to garner some unexpected funding showing little mercy I might add. My impression was that the Dream was paying no less at Georgia Tech (with poorer attendance) and it was not cheap price-wise from what I heard.

I got the impression that the Dream is continuing in Atlanta with the ESPN money as the financial backbone as to carrying forth. I heard the Philips renovations will take another summer with the Dream reluctantly expecting to be back at GA Tech in 2018.

Oh, I am amazed at talk of WNBA expansion. I find that hard to believe on so many levels.

[pilight]

The Dream were always planning to spend two summers at McCamish

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I'm a lonely frog
I ain't got a home

[dinkytown]

Lynx were under 8,000 for the first time this season as Game 1 attendance was 7,834. Their lowest playoff crowd since 2004.

[toad455]

[Richyyy]

Thought it was interesting that, according to the commentators in Game 1 of the Lynx-Mystics series, it's a) a WNBA rule that all arenas mut be air conditioned, and b) will cost the Lynx over a million dollars to pump the air into Williams Arena if they make the Finals. That's a high price, and you wonder what the franchise would've done if they weren't backed by Glen Taylor's cash. A lot of WNBA owners would blanch at that expense.

Maybe the Wild being long-term tenants at Xcel made it impossible, but you'd think that if there was one team who could reserve an arena for playoff games well in advance, it'd be the Lynx. It's certainly not a surprise that they needed a home venue to play in on these dates.

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Independent WNBA coverage: http://www.wnbalien.com/

[Shades]

It's hard to believe it cost a million dollars (more than the salary cap). For that price I'm thrift shopping for a permanent AC system and asking the Gophers to share in the cost.

They probably should have just installed a basketball court over the ice at Mariuchi Arena. Nice and cold.... maybe too cold.

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Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[toad455]

It's a shame Target Center isn't ready ahead of schedule. The first event there is a NBA preseason game on Oct. 20.

_________________
LET'S GO LIBERTY!!!!!!

Twitter: @TBRBWAY

[Luuuc]

[CamrnCrz1974]

Games of July 11, 2018

MIN-IND: 10006
ATL-WASH: 11354
NYL-CON: 7413

As an aside, Mohegan Sun Arena has a capacity of 9,323 for basketball. Today's attendance represents 79.51 percent of capacity.

[toad455]