|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Joining forces WUSA will be only women's league, with help from MLS
Posted: Wednesday May 24, 2000 12:50 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- If it works in pro basketball, maybe it can work for soccer. Taking its cue from the successful NBA-WNBA relationship, the Women's United Soccer Association, which begins play next spring, will be operated with the help of Major League Soccer. The groups reached agreement Tuesday to cooperate on marketing, scheduling, promotion and stadium development. The MLS also agreed not to submit a bid to U.S. Soccer to start up a rival women's league. "We believe this is a landmark day for soccer in America," said MLS commissioner Don Garber, who along with WUSA chairman John Hendricks was instrumental in formulating the agreement. It certainly could be a significant one not just in soccer, but for cooperation between men's and women's sports. While tennis and golf rarely combine efforts, soccer could be erasing the gender lines. "That is an enormous sign of strength," Garber said of the combined marketing initiatives the two leagues will undertake. "Soccer is a sport for a new America, which is a country changing, from the gender-equity point of view. "Ultimately, we hope to be the model for all sports, and soccer as a whole will benefit by getting a bigger piece of the pie, increasing our market share, getting more into the mainstream and turning people into attendees from participants. That can be affectuated much better together." The Women's NBA is entering its fourth season. Operated as a branch of the NBA, it has survived one challenger, the defunct American Basketball League, and enjoys steady attendance and TV ratings in major markets. All 20 members of the Women's World Cup championship team from the United States have committed to playing in the WUSA. They will be assigned to teams on Wednesday. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Tuesday that career scoring leader Mia Hamm would be assigned to the Washington team and World Cup hero Brandi Chastain would go to San Francisco. The newspaper also said Kristine Lilly would play for New York, Michelle Akers for Orlando-Tampa Bay, and Julie Foudy, Shannon MacMillan and Joy Fawcett would be on San Diego. "Speaking on behalf of the entire team, we're excited about the breakthrough," U.S. team captain Carla Overbeck said. "We want to do what is best for soccer, not just the women's side, but everyone involved.
"We're excited also because we have been behind the WUSA from the start and excited that is the plan that will go through and the league will be based on, with help from the MLS side. What we are gearing toward is helping soccer in this country." The WUSA plans to open next April in eight cities: Atlanta, Boston, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington. The league has financial backing from major media outlets such as Time Warner, Comcast, Discovery Communications and Cox Communications, plus a television deal with Turner Broadcasting for games to appear on TNT and CNN/Sports Illustrated. What it doesn't have is expertise on establishing and running a sports league. While MLS has struggled for a toehold on the American sporting scene, it does have nearly five years of experience. "I think this was a very mutual agreement where both sides are benefiting from the strength of the other," Hendricks said. "For a league starting out to have the full support of MLS with all its experience is invaluable to us, and we bring a lot of media weight to the table." While nothing specific has been formulated regarding scheduling, stadiums or marketing plans, the leagues have established a joint advisory council with two members from each side. That council will look into those issues and suggest strategies in all of those areas. Garber and Hendricks were most enthusiastic about an agreement for each league to potentially expand with ownership from the other league. The MLS could place a team in, say, Atlanta, with WUSA backing. The WUSA might put a franchise in, say, Kansas City, with MLS ownership. "We are excited about potential equity arrangements, expanding WUSA into a market or two we are interested in, and reciprocally looking at expansion plans for MLS in our markets," Hendricks said. "This is a very forward-looking plan, as well as addressing immediate needs."
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
