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Harnessing a Storm by Eileen Nicol Photo by Ingrid Pape-Sheldon

In professional sports, players and coaches come and go. Heck, teams come and go, as Sonics fans are only too well aware. In Seattle, the WNBA Storm and NBA Sonics teams were a package, the scone and coffee, if you will, that Starbucks owner Howard Schultz sold to Clay Bennett in 2006. Local basketball fans were dismayed at Bennett’s desire to move the teams to Oklahoma, and disgruntled at the haggling over upgrades to Key Arena that ensued. “We knew that the Storm had a terrific fan base and could be very successful here without a new arena,” says Storm co-owner Anne Levinson, a philanthropist and public official who was instrumental in negotiating with Bennett to keep the Storm. “So we wanted to do whatever we could to help the Storm stay in Seattle.”

“Whatever we could” turned out to be buying the WNBA team, whose tenth season will begin in June — happily, still in Seattle. Levinson makes it sound casual and almost easy in her well-modulated, reasonable voice. “A number of people had come up to me at games asking if there was something I could do,” she says. The buzz grew. Through civic and fan connections she discovered three other successful local women who were passionate about saving the Storm and who were willing and able to help her do something about it. All were active in philanthropic endeavors throughout long and successful professional careers. Three of the four participated in sports at college, and all of them were season ticket holders.

Ginny Gilder is an investment professional who was named to two U.S. Olympic rowing teams. Lisa Brummel, the senior vice president for Human Resources at Microsoft, played basketball and softball at Yale, and was drafted by a women’s professional basketball team in 1981. Dawn Trudeau spent 20 years in the software industry, 14 of them at Microsoft, before retiring to work with emerging nonprofits. Along with Levinson, these three women joined forces with the intent of purchasing the Storm. Talks began in May 2007 to acquire the team. At first Bennett resisted, but the women politely persisted, and in January 2008, they secured an option to purchase the team. They became owners on March 1, choosing the name Force 10 for their new company — the point on the Beaufort Wind Scale that marks the official transition from “strong gale” to “full storm.”

“One of the things that we talked a lot about in deciding to do this was the fact that we all came of age during Title IX and either were limited because those opportunities hadn’t been provided, and/or saw the beginning of what those opportunities could mean,” says Levinson. She had entered college on a field hockey scholarship, only to have the team cut by the school administration. “So I ended up having a number of very life-altering experiences in fighting that fight, including filing a Title IX claim that was resolved after I graduated, but luckily was resolved in a very positive way for the women who came after me.”

“I’m actually the oldest in the group,” says Trudeau. “I grew up in Iowa and there really weren’t any kind of sports opportunities for young girls or young women.” Much of Trudeau’s nonprofit work supports broadening opportunities for young women in economically disadvantaged situations, and she believes experience in team sports helps level the playing field with men in the workplace. One benefit is “just pure self- esteem,” she says, “the way they act and operate with each other.” Women who have participated in team sports “understand teamwork, collaboration, competition,” adds Levinson. “What it means to fail and get back up again.”

They are impressed at how the Storm players function as role models for youth in the seats at their games, and for youth in the community. “It’s a highlight for a kid to actually get to talk to a player,” says Trudeau. To that end, Levinson reiterates that one of their main goals is to recruit “the most talented athletes who are not only terrifically skilled on the floor but are wonderful human beings and great role models for the next generation.” Everyone on the Storm team — from owners to players to staff — takes community involvement seriously, ensuring that the players meet with the public off the court to promote literacy and nutrition education.

After a full year of ownership, the Force 10 team exhibits no signs of buyer’s remorse. “We’re all surprised by the breadth of support; it’s just been tremendous,” says Levinson. “I shouldn’t speak for all of us, but my view of last season is wherever we went, people came up to us and expressed gratitude and appreciation based on long-standing affection for the team — for these players and what the team means in the community. Even though we were ticket holders I don’t think we had a sense of the depth of how important the Storm is to the community.”

Trudeau especially values the family-friendliness of the fans, contrasting them with more male-dominated audiences for men’s professional basketball. “It’s very much moms and daughters and dads and daughters and sons. You just see that there’s a lot of kids there, and they really, really enjoy it. The experience is different also because I think the basketball is a little more team-oriented.”

The ownership team is working hard to make it even easier for families to attend by keeping ticket prices relatively low, and working to make sure inexpensive and family-friendly food is available. This summer, thanks to provisions in their new ten-year lease with Key Arena, food will be available outside the building, so families can spend warm summer days at the Seattle Center, eat outside, then head inside for an exciting game.

Acquiring additional corporate sponsors and increasing ticket sales are key to making the Storm sustainable as a business, say Levinson and Trudeau. In the midst of stock market woes and unemployment, increasing ticket sales might seem like a pipe dream. But they are hopeful the team can continue an upward attendance curve in 2009. “The good news that we’ve been seeing is that entertainment — particularly affordable family things that are close to home — actually appear to be doing pretty well in this economy because it provides an alternative to taking a trip out of town, or some more expensive discretionary spending,” explains Levinson. “So maybe there’s a little silver lining there.”

Since winning the WNBA Championship in 2004, the Seattle Storm has not made it past the first-round playoffs. Naturally, everyone wants to see the team win another championship, but Force 10 leaves player recruitment and development to head coach Brian Alger, who is starting his second season with the team. “I think that’s one of the delicate balances that you play as an owner,” says Trudeau. “We are active owners but we also want to respect the skills of the people that we have in the organization.”

The Storm will officially start their tenth season June 6 in Sacramento, and it’s likely one or more team owners will be there. Trudeau enjoys traveling with the team, and says they nearly met their goal last year of having at least one owner at every away game. “You get a much better idea of what the players are going through when they play out-of-town games,” she says. “It also gave us a lot of ideas — you know, good things that other teams are doing that we want to do.” And they’re looking forward to a very full house on June 7 when the Storm takes on Sacramento here at home. Because whatever their business skills and successes, the members of the Force 10 ownership team are really just extra-talented fans who kept the Storm from blowing out of Seattle — fans who want to continue to watch and promote exciting women’s professional basketball. As Trudeau says, “Our goal is to make sure this team can be in town forever.”

Eileen Nichol is a frequent contributor to Seattle Woman.

©2009 Caliope Publishing Company