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‘Such a validating and exciting endorsement:’ Q&A with Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter on bringing in Candace Parker and the WNBA’s growth — and possible expansion

shannon ryan, chicago tribune
·7 min read
‘Such a validating and exciting endorsement:’ Q&A with Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter on bringing in Candace Parker and the WNBA’s growth — and possible expansion

When businessman Michael Alter became principal owner of the then-new Chicago Sky, colleagues and friends often questioned his decision.

“All the time,” he said in a recent interview with the Tribune. “Somebody had to step up, and nobody was doing it. It was something I never dreamt I would do — be in sports, be in women’s sports. Having this league of powerful women, 80% of whom are women of color, primarily Black, I think is important. It’s critical it gets support and stability. It’s why I started and why I’m still doing it.”

Since the team’s inaugural season in 2006, Alter has seen the WNBA and the Sky grow dramatically as the league celebrates its 25th anniversary.

The Sky now play in a gleaming Wintrust Arena in the South Loop rather than dank Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

The team was able to attract one of the most important free-agent signings in league history (more on that later). Television exposure and recognition never has been stronger. The Sky’s home game Saturday against the Connecticut Sun will be broadcast on CBS for the first time.

The Sky (6-7) are on a four-game win streak after losing seven straight without key players.

“The business is in the best place it’s ever been,” Alter said.

Alter talked to the Tribune about a range of topics regarding the future of the league and the Sky, edited for brevity and clarity.

On how COVID-19 restrictions impacted the Sky and WNBA after playing no home games last season and limited attendance for much of this season

2019 was probably our best year in terms of attendance, sponsorship revenue and everything. We really had a great trajectory. Unfortunately that kind of all fell off the map. But we lost very few partners, none of our major partners. … We feel like we’re in the best place dealing with attendance. Next year we think we’ll be back to normal or better than normal. It’s frustrating we didn’t really get to maximize the potential of having Candace Parker with COVID limitations and injuries but we can’t really help that.

We were one of the top in the league, if not the highest, in sponsorship in 2019 and there was significant growth from previous years. In our case, moving to Wintrust and being part of the South Loop and what’s happening there was key. Having a good, exciting team and a fun team to watch and great players was too.

COVID was a mixed bag. We had no fans. We had no (home) games. From a revenue point of view, it was pretty dramatic. But in a weird way, the bubble gave us some really good exposure. We had good ratings on TV. Players’ activism in the league drew a lot of attention and it was well deserved.

What signing Parker, a former Naperville Central star, means to the franchise’s reputation and how it compares to bringing in or drafting top players in the past

Nothing like this. You can’t compare a first-round pick no matter how great the player is to someone who is a two-time MVP and one of three players who has been Finals MVP, league MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year. It’s on a whole other level. Her decision to come here was such a validating and exciting endorsement of the Sky and what we’re trying to do. She’s a great player. She’s the biggest free agent in WNBA history and for her to come to Chicago, you see the Bears and Portillo’s and big companies tweeting about her. It’s all beneficial in terms of elevating the team.

“We had a good feeling but you never know until the deal is done. I wouldn’t say it was shocking but when it happened. It was like, ‘OK, it’s really going to happen.’ It feels like a long time ago already.

After dealing with injuries and working out of an early losing streak and whether a championship remains the goal

It would be fantastic. It’s been our goal from Day 1 to get to that point. We feel with a healthy team we can beat anyone. To bring it all together for our city and our fans, that’s what we’re striving for. That’s where the focus is.

“I’m excited. We still have kinks to work out. You can see Candace is not 100% and gets winded, you see from that the outside as a fan. Azurá Stevens is still trying to get back her conditioning. It takes time. I think we’re going to continue to get better. The fact our defense is so solid now we have a base to get us through tougher times when offense is not peaking. I’m feeling better. In this league, it’s a short season, every game counts, there are no easy wins ever. But I like where we are.

On potential WNBA expansion

I think we’re close. I think it would be a great thing to do. We want to do it the right way and do it in a thoughtful way that maximizes the benefit for everybody. It’s something that’s going to be on our agenda the next year or two. I’m generally a very strong proponent of it, but I don’t want to do it willy-nilly. The fact that people are talking about it and want to see it is exciting. Part of the conversation is because there are so many great players who aren’t even in the league because there isn’t enough room for them. Part of it is showing that there’s demand on the ownership side, people who now are talking about owning a team in a city, who see what’s happening and the growth and excitement and want to get in while they can.

In the past, Alter expressed frustration with lack of corporate support in Chicago. How is that evolving?

We had a huge event during the (NBA) All-Star break in Chicago (in 2020) before COVID. We had a tremendous corporate event. We had a great turnout and we had great momentum and we had a new initiative we were going to embark on to really engage people who want to champion women and unfortunately it all got blown away by COVID. We lost a lot of that momentum. What we learned from that sharpened our messaging a little bit of what we’re selling to corporate America. There are some corporations much more focused on diversity and inclusion. It’s given us a good opportunity to reengage with them. And we’ve had great partners. I’m excited about the corporate stuff, once we get back to normal, that’s going to pick up.

On his long tenure with the Sky

I did it for a reason and that reason hasn’t changed. I really felt strongly that Chicago needs to be part of this league and to support the women with this platform and give them the support and respect they need. That feeling has only gotten deeper. Now it’s like, ‘We’ve got to make this thing work and I want to see it keep growing and getting better.’ I’m very passionate about making it happen. That’s what keeps me going.

On how long he sees himself in ownership

I don’t want to sound like it’s all about me and I have a great partner in (partner owner) John Rodgers. It’s when we feel like we can comfortably hand it over to someone with the same stewardship and commitment and passion and we can feel good about it. Whenever that might be.