With the WNBA’s increasing popularity, the league should return to one of its first expansion destinations in Orlando and bring back the Orlando Miracle.
The 2018 WNBA season has been a tremendous success, building upon several years of strong seasons and cultural relevance. This is a growing league that is demanding attention from everyone who loves basketball.
Whether it was Liz Cambage’s 53-point game, rising star A’ja Wilson’s dominant rookie season or the generational tandem of Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm’s resurgence, the WNBA has seen an abundance of exciting storylines heading into this year’s playoffs. And that does not even get into the eternal rivalry between the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx, the teams that played for the last three titles.
With the league’s continued growth in popularity and relevance, it may be time for the WNBA to consider expanding. The league expanded to Las Vegas last year, adding the Aces to much to success. It seems like there are several strong markets that could successfully host a WNBA team.
And what better city to revisit than Orlando.
You may remember the Orlando Miracle. They played from 1999 until 2002 before moving on to become the Connecticut Sun.
Under the lights of then-Orlando Arena, the 1999 inaugural season saw the likes of forward Taj McWilliams and guards Shannon Johnson and Nykesha Sales take the floor.
Under head coach Carolyn Peck, who had recently won a national title with the Purdue Boilermakers, the Miracle were poised to contend from their expansion year.
They finished their first season 17-19, just a few games out of the playoffs. The Orlando Miracle then scraped into the 2000 postseason, losing in the first round to the Cleveland Rockers.
The Miracle were just a few tie-breakers and games away from making the playoffs the following two years, before eventually relocating to Connecticut in 2003 when the DeVos family sold the team, looking to shrink their holdings in Orlando. They sold the Orlando Solar Bears that year and put the Orlando Magic up for sale.
The Miracle were a moderate success in Orlando. The Miracle were sixth in the WNBA in attendance that first year. But the team had below-average attendance in its three other seasons in Orlando.
At that time, the Magic were also struggling with attendance, playing in the outdated TD Waterhouse Centre (formerly Orlando Arena). there was a disconnect between the team and the fans.
It seems those impediments are long gone. The WNBA itself is on a much healthier footing. And sports in Orlando have changed in a major way.
Although the DeVos family did not see the Miracle as a sound investment in 2002, it seems now more than ever that a WNBA franchise would thrive in Central Florida.
Orlando is quickly becoming one of the entertainment and sports capitals of the United States.
Orlando is already a strong tourist destination. Downtown Orlando itself has seen a variety of significant investments within recent years: the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the I-4 Ultimate project and the upcoming Creative Village with new University of Central Florida and Valencia College locations. Not to mention the Amway Center.
Orlando is a much more diversified community. Sports has been a big part of that growth as a cultural outlet.
Orlando City has risen from that growth. And that organization has made its investment in women’s sports through the Orlando Pride, one of the most successful young franchises in the NWSL.
Then there is the Magic’s own $200 million investment in an entertainment complex neighboring the Amway Center. This entertainment complex is wholly a Magic development and so it benefits the organization’s business to fill the Amway Center with as many events as they can. The summer can be awfully sparse with the Orlando Magic out of season and the Orlando Predators laying fallow while the Arena Football League gets its business in better order.
Along with the Orlando City Stadium and Camping World Stadium, Orlando has carved out a significant series of respectable, modern sporting destinations.
According to Sports Media Watch, the Orlando/Daytona area sits comfortably at 18th in the U.S. in sports market size with 1.5 million homes. Continually, the Magic have hovered around 15th in league attendance throughout the last five years, despite play and records that would usually suggest otherwise.
It makes sense that Orlando as a city could support and grow its sports portfolio. There is a ton of interest in the entertainment options the city has to offer.
It is not just the Magic cashing in on fandom. Orlando City is currently fifth in MLS attendance with an average of 24,000 fans through 12 games. The Lions have taken over the city on gamedays and have proven Orlando can be a multi-team town.
Similarly, the Orlando Pride sit third this season in NWSL attendance with an average of 4,700 fans per game. As for number one in the NWSL attendance? Portland Thorns FC average roughly 16,000-17,000 in attendance.
Catching the Thorns is difficult. Portland is often marked with the blueprint for success in women’s professional sports, something even the Pride has considered throughout its founding and existence. But the Pride’s strong attendance is a sign the city can support women’s sports. There is a desire to see the team play.
Orlando Magic
Although the Pride have seen a drop in attendance this year. So much so that players publicly commented that they were disappointed more fans were not showing up after two strong years to open the franchise.
But the market is there. The fans are there. Orlando can support not just the major teams. It is a city that can have it all.
The blueprint the Thorns laid out is not simple. And with the number of intangibles and differences within each market, it is not so easy to duplicate.
But like the Thorns and the Pride, the ownership groups gave the teams a fighting chance by investing in them in the first place and furthering their growth. Orlando City jumped to MLS and made it known to the city and the league it was important to have a women’s team too.
It is largely involved with the culture created around the organization, something Portland has accomplished. It is not just a matter of initial stakes, but an upkeep and care of the organizational culture.
The infrastructure is here. And yes, the reality is there is a functional arena in any city that has an NBA team.
But Orlando’s operation would bode particularly well for the WNBA as opposed to other situations. The city investments would give the WNBA a franchise with stability and staying power.
The Magic have started to reinvest in properties throughout the city, trying to get their fingerprints into everything. They started up Magic Gaming for the inaugural 2K League. And they bought the new version of the Solar Bears.
If the Miracle could find a fanbase, to begin with, the WNBA has a much higher profile and a stronger marketing arm than NWSL has.
The Magic just announced their plans to honor the franchise’s 30th anniversary with special jerseys and logo for the upcoming season. The Magic have not had much mention of the Miracle in any of their anniversary celebrations.
A quick search online for the Orlando Miracle brings you to a variety of late 90’s/early 2000’s web pages, fit with archaic graphics and nostalgic looks and references. A potential reuniting of the WNBA and Orlando would still be a long ways away. It is unclear what the league’s expansion plans are or whether the Magic — or any other ownership group are interested in creating a WNBA team.
Though it may be some time until the WNBA seriously considers expanding again, there are few other locations that provide as a proven of a foundation than Orlando.