Crushing opponents isn’t sufficient for ABA team

Alicia Robinson

The Orange County Crush may be tops in its basketball league, but the

team’s business prospects aren’t looking like a slam dunk.

The team has an 8-1 record, but its inaugural season has been

fraught with problems -- a portable “bubble” arena has not gone up as

planned at the fairgrounds, and the team lost marquee player Dennis

Rodman to the Long Beach Jam after just one game.

American Basketball Assn. teams such as the Crush command between

$5 and $50 for tickets, a far lower price than NBA games, which can

cost upwards of $100 for one good seat. Crush tickets range from

about $7 to $30, with most of the money going to the venue where the

game is played.

None of that money has yet gone to the fairgrounds, even though

the Crush was supposed to make its home there. The portable arena

hasn’t been built because the proposed site has drainage problems

that could have flooded the arena, fair board member Ruben Smith

said. Other sites at the fairgrounds are now being mulled by fair

officials, but the holidays have slowed things down, he said.

The Crush’s opening game drew about 2,300 fans, but attendance can

be as high as 3,000, said the team’s publicity/media director Erick

Benson. He’s not sure what kind of crowds home games will draw, but

they will be missing one tattooed, pierced attraction that brought

money with it.

“There are a lot of former NBA players that are in the ABA, but as

far as taking Dennis’ place [on the Crush], who knows,” Benson said.

“We had an apparel deal because of him. ESPN was going to cover more

of our games because of him.”

Rodman reportedly left the Crush for the Long Beach Jam in

mid-December because of the team’s lack of a permanent venue for home

games. Just before Christmas, the Crush postponed its home games

after an alleged ticket surcharge snafu with Ticketmaster.

While the team may have lost its most exotic member, Benson said a

number of other Crush players came from the NBA or were college

stars.

Team supporters are counting on other things to bring in fans. The

Crush is the county’s only pro basketball team, ticket prices are

affordable, and the team is accessible to the community, Smith said.

“I think that people who want to go and see them really want to

see the up-and-coming players,” he said.

Fans have been excited about a program that introduces area high

school players and allows the schools’ cheerleaders to perform at

halftime, Benson said.

“We pride ourselves on being a community-based team, where the NBA

would never do that because they probably don’t have the time, or

they just would never get that close to the community,” he said.

Fairgrounds officials don’t have any specific expectations for the

team but are working to support the Crush, spokeswoman Lisa MacDonald

said.

“Once they get their business off the ground, I think it’s going

to be a real beneficial relationship,” she said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at

[email protected].