I posted this back in April:
Also -- and I simply cannot stress this enough -- the WNBA needs to explore particular ownership groups, as they did with the Las Vegas Aces and the Connecticut Sun before that, as their respective costs are not just relative, but lower than those of other franchises.
- With Las Vegas and Connecticut, the owners of the WNBA franchises (Mohegan Sun for CT, MGM Resorts International for LV) also own the respective arenas in which those franchises play (Mohegan Sun Arena for CT, Mandalay Bay Events Center for LV).
- And since both of these are attached to/part of casinos/resorts, there is already the "infrastructure" in place -- e.g., food/beverage/concessions, security, etc.
- In addition, the ownership group is not paying rent for the arena (as other franchises have to do), as it would be paying rent to itself.
- As a result, not only are the costs of operation for these two franchises is significantly less that the costs of operation for other WNBA franchises, but the ability to make a profit is much easier.
- And even if attendance is not a huge percentage of capacity, if the attendees for WNBA games stay at the resort, spend time in the casino, etc., the franchise can recover any costs that way.
LINK
I have had MANY discussions with
@ucbart and
@EricLA about this topic.
Having the WNBA franchise ownership also own the arena/venue is incredibly important. It makes the ability to make a profit easier (see above). But if you have the financial resources to own the venue, chances are you also have the ability to absorb losses (thereby reducing any risk of relocation).
If Joseph Tsai owns the the Barclays Center, I cannot imagine the Liberty playing anywhere but there as the home venue.
