Could the Fever fold if they don't win it all this year? The Indy Star's David Woods thinks so, in a piece awkwardly published on the same day as Pacers and Fever co-owner Mel Simon's obituary.
Simon and his brother Herb, known for shopping malls and for charitable giving, bought the men's-side Pacers in 1983, when it looked like the team might otherwise skip town; the Fever began play in 2000.
Herb Simon suggested this spring that Dunn, Catchings, and company had to double their attendance to survive; during the season, of course, the Fever brass will say no such thing, and the team members, for what it's worth, say they see no danger signs (of the kind that beset the Hilton Koch-era Comets).
That may be because the real danger signs have nothing to do with the Fever. All NBA franchises (unlike Hilton Koch) have enough dough in the bank to run a WNBA team day by day-- the question is whether they can sustain small losses associated with that team, year after year, and the answer is going to be "yes," as long as (a) the owners basically like the women's game and (b) the men's side isn't bleeding red ink. The Silver Stars almost certainly lost money for most of the past six years, but it didn't matter: as long as the Spurs do well and the SASS/Spurs front office believes in the women's game, Becky and VJ and company will be just fine. Similarly, in Detroit, the Shock might well make money, but it doesn't matter much if they don't, because the Pistons do well and the front office believes in the team.
The Indiana Pacers, on the other hand, are supposedly having a very hard time.
Not coincidentally, they're also seeking better deals right now, both from the NBA and from the city where they play. That gives the Pacers/ Fever organization strong incentives to cry wolf; as with the Storm/ Sonics mess in 2007-08, a threat to move or fold the Fever could give more people more reason to support the Pacers organization if it requests public cash. But sometimes the wolf really is at the door; right now there's no way for most of us to know.
Indy native and Fever star Katie Douglas has a very sensible response: "We need to get it done now."
Simon and his brother Herb, known for shopping malls and for charitable giving, bought the men's-side Pacers in 1983, when it looked like the team might otherwise skip town; the Fever began play in 2000.
Herb Simon suggested this spring that Dunn, Catchings, and company had to double their attendance to survive; during the season, of course, the Fever brass will say no such thing, and the team members, for what it's worth, say they see no danger signs (of the kind that beset the Hilton Koch-era Comets).
That may be because the real danger signs have nothing to do with the Fever. All NBA franchises (unlike Hilton Koch) have enough dough in the bank to run a WNBA team day by day-- the question is whether they can sustain small losses associated with that team, year after year, and the answer is going to be "yes," as long as (a) the owners basically like the women's game and (b) the men's side isn't bleeding red ink. The Silver Stars almost certainly lost money for most of the past six years, but it didn't matter: as long as the Spurs do well and the SASS/Spurs front office believes in the women's game, Becky and VJ and company will be just fine. Similarly, in Detroit, the Shock might well make money, but it doesn't matter much if they don't, because the Pistons do well and the front office believes in the team.
The Indiana Pacers, on the other hand, are supposedly having a very hard time.
Not coincidentally, they're also seeking better deals right now, both from the NBA and from the city where they play. That gives the Pacers/ Fever organization strong incentives to cry wolf; as with the Storm/ Sonics mess in 2007-08, a threat to move or fold the Fever could give more people more reason to support the Pacers organization if it requests public cash. But sometimes the wolf really is at the door; right now there's no way for most of us to know.
Indy native and Fever star Katie Douglas has a very sensible response: "We need to get it done now."
posted by Stephanie at 7:32 AM
