January 23, 2001

Women's football a possibility in Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) -- Move over, Seattle Seahawks: A women's professional football team may be coming to town.

Melissa Korpacz, national team director of the Women's Professional Football League, is considering a team in the Puget Sound area or Portland. She currently owns the New England Storm, which lost the first women's Super Bowl 39-7 to the Houston Energy Saturday.

"I've always liked the idea of a team in Seattle," Korpacz said. "There needs to be a team in the Pacific Northwest."

The league's inaugural season was plagued by league ownership changes, missed paychecks and canceled games. But the WPFL is hoping to expand from 11 teams to 20 teams. Three additional teams are already scheduled to start next season in Sacramento, Montreal and Kernersville, N.C.

Players are paid $50 a game.

Many question whether women's football could succeed in Seattle.

"You'd be crazy to invest in a women's football team in Seattle," said Jim Haugh, president of the Sports and Events Council of King County.

With five professional teams, he said, the city is oversaturated with sports.

Last season, only the Mariners were successful in ticket sales. Lack of attendance caused all but one of the Seahawks' home games to be blacked out on television. The SuperSonics have seen a decline in ticket sales. The Sounders soccer team is struggling to survive.

The Storm, which is part of the Women's National Basketball Association, lost more than $1 million during its first year.

"There is only so much Seattle is going to give with its sports entertainment dollar," Haugh said.

Over the past six years, five women's professional sports leagues have started -- the WNBA, the now bankrupt American Basketball League, and professional softball, soccer and football leagues.

Finding respect, as well as fans to support the teams, has been a struggle, said Karen Bryant, senior director of basketball operations for the Storm and former general manager for the Seattle Reign, which went bankrupt with the rest of the ABL.

"It's a constant fight," Bryant said. "Every day you're fighting for your life, your credibility, your legitimacy. It's an uphill battle that the Storm is still fighting."

But Bryant is optimistic about the future of women and football in Seattle.

"Seattle should be flattered," she said. "The fact that they are even considering Seattle means that the city has proven itself to be a hotbed for women's sports."

People may be surprised once they see a game, said Eddie McMillan, who is a former Seahawk and defensive coach for the Puget Sound Jets, Auburn's semipro football team.

"The women can play," he said. "It's a physical game, and they can do everything the men do, but not as fast."