Profitability remains on WNBA’s to-do list

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Updated: September 24, 2011 12:23AM

The NBA is as popular as ever, and it might not even have a season next year with a lockout looming.

What does that mean for the WNBA, a league infinitely less popular than its counterpart?

Those within the league maintain that it is doing well financially and that women’s professional basketball continues to grow.

“We are coming off a really strong and positive year,” first-year WNBA president Laurel Richie said. “While we know there is work to do, we are encouraged by the signs.”

Still, the facts are hard to ignore.

The majority of WNBA teams are believed to have lost money each year, with the NBA subsidizing some of the losses. The Sky is privately owned and does not fall under that category. If the NBA owners and players can’t come to an agreement on a collective bargaining agreement, will they continue to pay for the WNBA?

The WNBA, no matter how hard it tries, doesn’t draw nearly as many viewers as the other professional sports — even with an ESPN contract. Games 2 and 3 of last year’s WNBA Finals averaged a 0.4 television rating. To compare, Game 1 of this year’s NBA Finals earned a 10.67.

“We have tremendous support from the NBA,” Sky president Adam Fox said. “Everybody understands this is a league that is going to need water and sunshine in order for it to grow.

“I can’t go from 10 Twitter followers to 10 million Twitter followers in six days. It doesn’t work. Building a brand and building a league takes time. The league has done some of the heavy lifting, but it’s going to take a little more time.”

Some of the WNBA’s 12 teams are experiencing financial success because of the addition of marquee sponsorships. The Phoenix Mercury was the first to reach such an agreement in 2009 when it secured a partnership with Lifelock to brand its jersey. Since then, the Los Angeles Sparks (Farmers Insurance), the Seattle Storm (Bing), the New York Liberty (Foxwoods Casino) and the Washington Mystics (Inova Health System) have formed similar partnerships.

Four teams are experiencing double-digit growth from last year with Atlanta and Seattle leading the way at 25 percent. The renewal rate for season tickets is at a record-high 78 percent.

The problem is that teams without a marquee sponsor outnumber those with one and teams that have financial losses outnumber those that are in the black.

The Sky, which joined the league in 2006, is trying to establish itself in a competitive sports town. It moved its games from the UIC Pavilion to Allstate Arena last season, which has helped draw more fans.

While the team is not profitable, Fox said the Sky is in “solid” financial shape as it heads into its ­season opener tonight at the Indiana Fever.

“We’re a startup team that’s just completing the first five years,” he said. “But every year we are working toward our best possible financial footing. You have some fixed costs that weigh on you early, but we are moving toward regular profitability. We hope to get there.”

An obvious part of the growth of a developing league is the addition of teams. The WNBA hasn’t introduced a new franchise since the Atlanta Dream in 2008 and only two (the Sky being the other) have joined the league since 2000.

Richie was noncommittal when asked if the WNBA was looking to expand, but she wouldn’t rule it out.

“Our first job is to make sure our existing teams are strong and healthy,” she said.

The Sky’s players and coaches have heard the same line for years: The WNBA is going to crumble.

Since it’s still here after 15 years, they said, it’s probably not going anywhere.

“I’ve been hearing those kinds of rumors since I was in college,” fourth-year forward Sylvia Fowles said. “It hasn’t happened yet, so I try not to worry about it.”

Added first-year Sky coach Pokey Chatman: “For me, it’s not a concern. The people running the league want to see it be successful. The league [hasn’t folded], and I don’t think it will.”

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a backup plan. It might not be something they think about regularly, but some of the Sky’s players and coaches have considered the worst.

Fowles said she has good relationships overseas and would be fine playing in leagues there. Rookie Courtney Vandersloot still is trying to develop those connections.

And if international basketball doesn’t work out …

“The good thing about women’s basketball is the majority of us ­finished college and have a degree,” Vandersloot said.