Atlanta brings pro women's basketball back to the southeast.
The capital of the Goober State, famous for peaches, Ted Turner's cable networks, and the Coca Cola company is set to become the newest home to a WNBA franchise.
Atlanta, Georgia's brand new professional basketball team, named the Dream after fans voted on it instead of 'Flight,' 'Spirit,' and other choices, will begin operations in May when the 2008 WNBA season commences.
Atlanta real estate mogul Ron Terwilliger, the Dream's owner, is graciously embracing the opportunity, as he will make the new organization at least the fifth WNBA team out of 14 next year that will exist separately from an NBA family.
"I am very pleased and excited to be able to bring the WNBA to Atlanta," Terwilliger says. "This has been my home for most of the last 28 years, a dynamic flourishing city with great demographics and a lot of terrific basketball."
The Dream's colors are a summery mix for a summertime league. On the logo, 'Atlanta' will be penned in red, with 'Dream' written in big sky blue capital letters, outlined in red. A basketball striped in white and the two aforementioned colors shoots out of a star in the center of 'Dream's' letter "A."
"Atlanta is a city of dreamers," Terwilliger adds. "We have had time to reflect on what it means to dream...and what can happen when you do."
Atlanta, the nation's 34th largest city, has hosted two Super Bowls, the 1996 Summer Olympics, is home to a World Series trophy (1995 Atlanta Braves), the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers, and has been home to the NBA's Atlanta Hawks since their 1968 relocation from St. Louis.
WNBA President and the Empire State's own Donna Orender feels the 'Empire State of the South' is a good fit for the world's premier women's sports league.
"When we look at cities, we look at three key areas," Orender says. "We look at one, you always want to start with smart, impassioned ownership that believes in the WNBA. And clearly we have that with Mr. Terwilliger. We look at the corporate base and their willingness to support and get behind this property. And the third thing, you want a rich tradition of basketball. So the recipe here in Atlanta is quite a good one for success."
That recipe also brings professional women's basketball back to the Southeast, just after original WNBA franchise the Charlotte Sting ceased operations in 2007. The Miami Sol folded after 2002, and at the same time the Orlando Miracle moved north to become the Connecticut Sun. The National Women's Basketball League's (NWBL) Birmingham Power dissolved, as did the entire league after its 2006 campaign.
Yet experts say the Atlanta venture has a lot of incentive to stay etched on the women's pro sports map.
"I love Atlanta as a place," Terwilliger says. "We think that we'll have a good mix of young women and families and we'll be able to provide a very entertaining event for a much more affordable price than the other professional sports can afford."
Atlanta's home games will be played at Philips Arena in the city's downtown, already home to the Thrashers and Hawks.
The Dream will pick fourth in the first round of the 2008 WNBA Draft. Their initial roster will consist mainly of active players drawn from existing teams, as the WNBA's Expansion Draft is set for later this year. The 13 current squads will choose six "protected players" who will not be subject to expansion draft transactions, ergo allowing Atlanta to choose one from each club's available 5 to 7 other members.
The 2008 WNBA season tips off May 17th.
