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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 18, 1999)
-june IB, 1339 t Blazer enes? PH O TO BY Women’s basketball appears to be headed back to Portland, but the victory is bittersweet for Portland Power fans by HP A group of Portland Power fans support the home team in 1996 er, each city must obtain pledges for at least 5,500 season tickets by Oct. 15. The Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and Seat tle Supersonics will operate the other three expansion teams. When these four teams start play, the total number of W NBA teams will be 16, double the number in 1997, the league’s inaugural year. “We had not anticipated expanding this quickly, but the combination of the success of the league in the first two seasons and the strong interest expressed by NBA owners has I* hough the demise of the American Bas- ketball League’s Portland Power left a gaping void for fans of women’s basket ball, things are looking up. It’s likely women’s basketball fans in Portland will soon have a new team to celebrate. The Women’s National Basketball Associa tion announced June 7 that the league’s operat ing committee has selected four expansion teams to begin playing in the 2000 season, one of which will be in Portland, operated by the Portland Trail Blazers. To secure teams, howev- EUGENE < LANE GOOD FOOD GOOD PEOPLE GOOD FUN See You There! S arah S wanson and W ill O ’B ryan convinced us that the time is right to create new teams and new opportunities for fans to experience our games,” WNBA President Val Ackerman stated in a June 7 press release. She’s also quoted as saying Portland will be a “terrific market” for women’s basketball. She praised the Trail Blazers for being one of the NBA’s most successful teams in recent years, and the Rose Garden for being an excellent arena for staging “women’s basketball in the way that we want it to be seen by the world.” Ackerman further stated: “The base that’s been laid by the Portland Power of the ABL will help us. There is clearly an audience in that city as demonstrated by the crowds that the Power was able to attract.” Promotional statements aside, some Port land Power fans have mixed feelings about the WNBA. Catherine Sameh of Portland was a devoted Power season ticket-holder. “When the ABL went bankrupt and the Power folded, I had a lot of strong feelings about how the NBA was responsible for some of that demise,” says Sameh, quickly adding, “But I really want to support women’s basketball. If this is the only thing around, they need our support." The conflict stems from a commonly held belief that the W NBA was founded only after the ABL demonstrated a market for women’s basketball, and that the WNBA’s association C O U N T Y ’S with the NBA allowed it to challenge the ABL with major marketing muscle. Its a theory Sandra Kite, another Power season ticket-holder, subscribes to wholeheart edly. “That ticks me off,” she says flatly, offer ing that, like Sameh, she has reservations about the W NBA. “I haven’t decided whether I’m going to buy tickets or not,” says Kite. Though, after mulling a bit, Kite seems to decide— reluctantly. “I probably will in fact buy tickets. I still want to support women’s basketball.” Nevertheless, Kite still takes issue with the W NBA’s plans to play its season in the sum mer, as opposed to a traditional winter season. “I don’t like the idea of women playing basket ball in the off-season just to keep basketball fans interested in the game. That irks me,” she says. “Having it run in the off-season makes it seem like a second-rate game.” Though the 2000 season doesn’t yet have a confirmed schedule, just mentioning that a women’s basketball team could soon exist again in Portland has been enough to generate rev enue at the Trail Blazers ticket office, which is currently accepting $50 deposits from fans for next year’s season tickets. ■ To place a deposit on W omen ’ s N ational B asketball A ssociation tickets, call the Port land Trail Blazers ticket office at (503) 231-8000. 8th A N N U A L DAY PRI SUN. f JUNE 27 1999 Picnic in the Park 1 1 a m ” 6:30pm MAURIE JACOBS PARK « EUGENE by the Foot Bridge at VALLEY RIVER CENTER Special Guest Speaker: Harriet Merrick Sp eak ers from: Men's Health Network Lesbian Health Project LGBT & Questioning Youth Group Rural Organizing Project M a n y T hanks to O u r Sp on sors: 1 WEEKLY JU ST OUT H IV A llia n c e EQUALITY PROJECT M a rc ia O 'R o u rk e GRAPHIC DESIGNS DIRECTIONS: 1-5 So u th to the 1-105 Eugene Exit. ENTERTAINMENT Cathleen Wilder & Nicole Weiland Jack Smith * Tess Catalano Soromundi Lesbian Choir Rainbow Wranglers Invincible Vincent Dyke Van Dyke Bumpy PRIDE DAY IS OPEN TO EVERYONE. $2.00 donation is suggested. Right onto D elta H ig h w a y . Take the next Exit to Valley River Center. Behind the main mall there is parking along the tree line of the Willamette River. Foot/bike bridge leads across to the event! ^Notice: Promote your business! while helping G AY PRIDE DAY! RAFFLE Items? Donations of goods or services ore welcome! tax deductible]. A D V E R T IS E in this years program ? Some space is available Deadline 6/18. FULL PAGE: 4.5* x 7.5* $50 • 1/2 PAGE:4.5’ x 3.5* $30 1/4 PAGE: 4.5* x 15" $15 (horiz] or 2" x 3.5* $15 (vertical) Funds are for Pride Day, 2 0 0 0 PRIDE DAY is an alcohol and drug free event. Vendors & Artists contact:PRIDE Committee • [541 ] 9 8 8 -0 3 9 9 * website: http://home.att.net/~timspfd/prideloneco/home.html FOOD B OOT H S « C R A F T S < R A F F L E « K I D S P A C E 49
