Women’s Game Gets Foothold in Los Angeles

While the WNBA moved slowly toward formation, three public relations executives announced in the spring of 1996 they had formed the the American Basketball League and had signed seven members of the gold-medal winning ’96 U.S. women’s Olympic team.

The ABL launched its first season in 1996-97, but TV viewers had to hunt to find ABL telecasts.

Meanwhile, the NBA Board of Governors in April 1996 announced approval of the WNBA concept and that the league would begin play in June 1997, with a team based in L.A., the Sparks.

The ABL’s Long Beach StingRays reached the 1998 ABL finals before losing to Columbus. The team was disbanded afterward, soon followed by the league itself, which folded in December 1998, its players absorbed by the WNBA.

In June and July 1996, the WNBA announced TV partnerships with NBC, ESPN and Lifetime. That TV exposure remains the single reason why the ABL died and the WNBA remains on the basketball landscape today.

The league, dominated by the Houston Comets, winners of the first three WNBA championships, also was helped by the NBA, which is one of the league’s sponsors.

The Sparkshave not reached the finals yet, and their short history has been notable mainly for several coaching changes.