Next world tourney could cost $4M

INDIANAPOLIS — Organizers took a bath in red ink as American fans showed an unsurprising disinterest in the 14th World Basketball Championships which averaged a live attendance of only 6,414 fans for 62 games in 11 days here.

A sellout of 17,079 fans was reported for the title game and the playoff for third at the Conseco Fieldhouse last Sunday. The US team, which lost to Spain in the fight for fifth spot the night before, didn’t play in either contest.

Each of the 2,500 volunteers mobilized for the event received four free tickets per day. But even the freeloaders couldn’t be bothered to go to the venues – the 18,000-seat Conseco Fieldhouse and the 35,600-seat RCA Dome – which were used simultaneously for games until the quarterfinals.

Under International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules, the host of the quadrennial World Championships pays for the air fare, hotel accommodations, inland transportation, and food expenses of each participating team. FIBA collects all TV and radio broadcast fees. The host earns income from ticket sales and sponsorships.

Newly-elected FIBA president Carl Ching Men Ky of Hong Kong estimated the Indiana Sports Corp. budget to be about $2.5 million for the event. That amount should’ve been sufficient to cover expenses for 16 teams, eight referees, a host of FIBA officials who insist on flying first-class, and marketing.

There were four US cities that Indianapolis defeated for the right to represent America in the bidding to host this year’s championships. Orlando, Portland, Seattle and Atlanta lost out in the early reckoning. In 1997, FIBA picked Indianapolis over Tokyo and Berlin. No US city had ever hosted the games since their inception in 1950.

American fans snubbed the World Championships and instead, tuned in to competing sports events like football, baseball, and tennis –as expected – last weekend. There was little media space on the tournament in USA Today – a barometer of public interest.

"I’m surprised that we weren’t better able to educate the public on the significance of the championship and the caliber of the basketball," said Bill Benner, spokesman of the organizing Indiana Sports Corp. "Our measure of success will not be based on dollars and cents and butts in the seats."

In an effort to attract local interest, the US Selection Committee picked Indiana Pacers stars Reggie Miller and Jermaine O’Neal to play for the host squad. Still, the fans stayed away. Maybe, Michael Jordan could’ve brought the fans in but his Airness was nowhere in sight.

Ticket prices were slashed by about $75 midway the tournament to lure in fans. No difference. Except on the last day, fans came in trickles to watch the proceedings.

A social expert said the city’s lack of cultural diversity was a factor. In Oakland, for instance, over 19,000 fans showed up to witness a game between the US and China last Aug. 22 because of the large ethnic Chinese community’s curiosity about Yao Ming. Here, there aren’t significant "foreign" blocs to create a large demand for tickets based on ethnic loyalty.

The next world championship host is Saitama, 30 kilometers north of Tokyo. Japan Basketball Association (JABA) president Masatoshi Ozaki headed a 10-man delegation to observe the conduct of this year’s tournament and learn what it could to prepare for Saitama’s turn in 2006. Ozaki said a high priority in his working orders is security.

Ozaki said the state-of-the-art, two-year-old, 20,000-seat Saitama Super Arena will be the main playing venue. The Super Arena was the site of the third World Basketball Championships for Young Men last year. Incidentally, the Super Arena is home to the world’s only official John Lennon museum. Other venues in Tokyo will be used for the preliminaries.

Since 1950, the only Asian city to host the World Championships was Manila in 1978.

Ozaki might be in for a big surprise in 2006 because FIBA secretary general Borislav Stankovic plans to invite 24 teams, not only 16, to play at the 15th World Championships. The Stankovic formula will mean four six-team pools with survivors advancing directly to the quarterfinals and extending the schedule so that no entry plays more than two days in a row.

If Stankovic’s plan pushes through, Ozaki’s budget for Saitama could easily increase by 50 percent. Providing for inflation, the amount could bloat to $4 million – a hefty price to pay for a tournament that was ignored here the last two weeks.

In an interview, Stankovic told The Star the other day Yugoslavia’s victory will prompt the US to send better players for the next tournament. "So in a way, it was good for international basketball," he mused.

As for the dismal showing of China and Lebanon, Stankovic said the future doesn’t look bright for Asian entries. "They’ve got to show much better results if they hope to become contenders someday," he added.