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The Chicago Sky face the usual expansion team hardships -- financial setbacks, lackluster fan support, marketing struggles and a losing record.
The Sky also have to cope with being the only WNBA team in an NBA city with no ties to that city's NBA team.
"Breaking through with your message of who you are and what you are in a new market is the biggest obstacle," says Michael Alter, principal owner of the Sky.
The Sky do not share facilities with the Chicago Bulls, unlike former expansion teams such as the Seattle Storm, who use the NBA/WNBA business model, and the Washington Mystics, who have non-NBA affiliated ownership but share the Verizon Center with the Washington Wizards. The Sky play in the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion.
"It would certainly have been nice to walk into something. It would've saved us a lot of time and money," says Alter. "It took us a lot of time to build an infrastructure, which we certainly would not have had to do if we were a part of the NBA team."
Alter purchased the Sky for $10 million. The Chicago native is president of the Alter Group, a commercial real estate company.
The Sky, whose marquee players include rookie of the year candidate Candice Dupree and Stacey Dales, the No.3 overall pick in 2002, have worked to make themselves a name, doing several public appearances.
Alter and WNBA President Donna Orender see one advantage in Chicago's situation.
"It provides a very focused model," Orender says. "With NBA/WNBA models, you have to choose 'Well, which one are we going to focus on today?'"
"We think it's great to have our sole purpose to be to promote and make the WNBA team successful," Alter says.
Attendance is a concern leaguewide, dipping to about 8,200 per game entering the season. The Sky, in a 6,900-seat arena, average slightly more than 3,000. Winning cured lagging attendance in Seattle and Detroit, but Chicago has a league-worst 4-23 record.
"We just have to keep working hard and keep our heads up," says Dupree, who had a career-high 25 points in a 69-64 loss to the Indiana Fever on Sunday.
Sports television consultant Neal Pilson says it is important for any league to have teams in major markets. Chicago is the No.3 TV market in the USA.
"You give the perception that the league is a 'big league,'" says Pilson. "The major markets are where sponsors and advertising offices are ... and if you do well in the major markets, your ratings around the country are stronger. With the total number of households between New York, Chicago, and L.A., you have more than 10% of the country."
The Connecticut Sun, who had to overcome non-NBA affiliated barriers en route to winning back-to-back Eastern Conference titles, advise the Sky to stay the course.
"It's really about fixing and maintaining," says Sun general manager Chris Sienko. "Every year they're going to do better and better based upon the feedback they get from their fans and supporters."
Chicago officials have given themselves three to five years to turn a profit or become a winning team, says Alter.
"I'm not sure those things are going to happen in the same time frame," Alter says. "Turning a profit isn't going help us become a better team, and I don't think we need to be a winning team to turn a profit."
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