NEW YORKûKathy Goodman admits she was wary of the hype about the impact Candace Parker would have on the Los Angeles Sparks if they selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s WNBA draft. “I am the cynic of the group,” the Sparks’ co-owner sa
"I’m the one that’s like ‘Yes I know there’s a lot of hype and let’s not believe our own hype. This is still going to take some work.’ And I have to admit, that even I was pleasantly surprised by the response." Although Parker has yet to make her debut with the Sparks, the former Tennessee Lady Vols star is already boosting the team and the rest of the league at the box office, in merchandise sales and on the Web.
Los Angeles sold seven times the number of season tickets during the first week after the April 9 draft compared to the same period last year. Also, individual game ticket sales for the first eight days after the draft increased nearly threefold. No doubt, the Sparks’ ticket sales are also being fueled by the return of Lisa Leslie.
The perennial All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist is back after a oneyear absence following the birth of her daughter last June. "It has been really overwhelming to see," Goodman said. "The combination of Candace joining the team and Lisa Leslie being back on the team, both of those things have been a matter of a lot of buzz in the community." And that buzz hasn’t been limited to Los Angeles.
According to the WNBA, teams around the league are selling three times as many individual game tickets for when the Sparks are scheduled to visit compared to their overall average. "I feel like it’s a huge responsibility," Parker said. "Obviously we’ve gotten people to buy tickets to the games, but it’s a matter of getting them to come back.
I guess a little bit of added pressure to perform when we play … not to take any nights off because there’s always going to be somebody watching you for the first time." Being a draw isn’t new for Parker. Tennessee is usually among the attendance leaders in women’s college basketball – at home and on the road.
The Lady Vols averaged a school-record 15,796 at home this past season en route to their second straight NCAA championship, and eighth overall. "It’s something I am used to in a way, coming from a storybook program at Tennessee," Parker said. "We had a lot of sold-out away games this year, a lot of people wanted to see us play.” (AP)
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