WEST VALLEY CITY -- Like a ribbon cutting or soil turning, Larry Miller took a pen and put it to paper Friday afternoon in an act that was more symbolic than significant.
At a press conference on the court of Franklin Covey, Jazz owner Larry Miller stood in front of a backdrop sporting official WNBA logos and signed an agreement that will keep the Starzz in Utah for at least three more years.It was all ceremonial, though, as most people already knew what Miller had to say before he took the microphone.
"We debated whether or not to even have a press conference." he said, acknowledging there was no mystery to the announcement. "But since there was some earlier conjecture about whether the league wanted us back or whether we wanted to be back, we thought it would be best to make this announcement and answer any questions."
The fact that Utah had decided to keep the Starzz and the league had decided it wanted to keep them here wasn't always a given, although, Miller said most of the time it was probable.
Miller acknowledge that some in the Jazz front office didn't want to keep the franchise. Some of that may be attributable to the news reports that Utah might get to keep the Starzz on a probationary basis.
Three teams, Utah, Charlotte and Sacramento, got three year contract offers, while the other franchises got 10-year deals. Miller said the public debate about that two months ago bothered him and some others. But now he's decided the length of the paper agreement doesn't really matter.
"We're taking a long-term approach to it," he said. News reports quoting WNBA league officials said they might not want to leave the Starzz here because of poor attendance and gate receipts. Miller said those reports, regardless of their accuracy, were hurtful and caused some front office personnel to question whether Utah wanted to keep the Starzz.
"We kind of got like kindergarten kids going back and forth like that," he said smiling. "To me, the three years here (on paper) does not mean a great deal . . . This agreement is something you do because the system makes you. It has no relevance to how long the Starzz will be here or how successful they'll be." Miller, however, still has to sell the Starzz to some of his staff.
"Internally there has been a division about whether or not we wanted the Starzz," he said.
He'd planned on meeting with front office personnel and getting everyone behind the renewal. Because he hasn't had the chance, and league officials really want the signed agreement, Miller said he'll "fill in the blanks later."
One thing Miller plans to do to increase attendance and gate receipts is hire front officer personnel that work only with the Starzz. For the last three years, most Jazz officials have done double duty.
"The women's game is a lot different," he said. "It's got to be marketed a little differently. We need people who understand it."
Those changes, he said, will show the team and the league that Utah is "truly committed" to keeping the Starzz. He wanted fans to know that the team he believes has always had the talent will soon have the support to give spectators a winning season.
"I've always thought we had better talent that we were showing as a team," Miller said. That began to turn around the last part of the 1999 season.
"We really started to play competitively," he said. "We've got reason to be here."