WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks’ Owners Relinquish Control


The Grinch apparently wasn’t happy with just stealing Christmas and decided to pose as the Los Angeles Sparks’ owners on New Years Eve. The Women’s Naitonal Basketball (WNBA) team owners shutdown operations and laid off their president and general manager. The players have been paid but that doesn’t help soften the blow. The WNBA had increased awareness and attendance in 2013 and one can only speculate why the owners would relinquish control of the franchise. According to the Associate Press, several groups are interested in owning a WNBA team and the league is exploring various options.

The Sparks were established in 1997 and one of the original eight teams in the league. Lisa Leslie is arguably one of the biggest stars of the WNBA and played with The Sparks. In 2011, Lisa became a member of the Sparks’ ownership group and in doing so became the first former player to invest in a league team. The late Jerry Buss was an owner from 1997-2011. Gemini Basketball LLC. owned the team from 2007 – 2011 before Williams Group Holdings took over.

LA Sparks Ownership Group Gives up Franchise
By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer – Associated Press

The Los Angeles Sparks’ ownership group has given up control of the franchise.

WNBA President Laurel Richie told The Associated Press on Thursday that Sparks chairman Paula Madison informed the league right before Christmas that her family-owned company would no longer be involved with the team.

“The current ownership group has notified us that they are no longer willing to support the team,” Richie said. “They have shutdown operations and we in turn based on that have begun the process of taking action to return management control to the league.”

All Sparks front office personnel, including the team’s president and general manager, were laid off on New Year’s Eve via e-mail. The players, including star Candace Parker, have already been paid and their benefits will continue to be taken care of by the league.

The move comes after a banner year for the WNBA with attendance and viewership both up.

“My initally response was one of surprise,” Richie said. “Both in terms of how well the league was doing and is doing. I didn’t have any prior communication from the team that this was going to happen.”

Richie said that several groups have expressed interest in owning a WNBA team and the league is now exploring those options in regards to the Sparks. She said that while final numbers aren’t in yet from this past season, almost half the franchises were profitable this year. The Sparks weren’t one of them.

“We are busily looking at options and the nice thing is we’re coming off a strong season that makes those conversations easier to have,” Richie said.

Richie said it was too early to tell whether the Sparks would be playing this season which begins in four months.

“I’d rather not speculate on that,” she said. “What I can tell you is our team is working steadily and in a dedicated manner to move through all this and truly explore all our options with respect to the Sparks.”

Madison became the Sparks’ chairman in 2007 with an ownership group that included Kathy Goodman and Carla Christofferson, and former star Lisa Leslie was added to the group after her retirement. Before that the late Jerry Buss owned the team.

The franchise won titles in 2001 and 2002 and has made it to the playoffs in five of the past six seasons. They were knocked out in the opening round by Phoenix.

Los Angeles was one of the original eight franchises when the league began in 1997. The WNBA grew to 16 teams before several franchises folded, the last of which was Sacramento in 2009.

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