WUSA officials, hoping to relaunch the professional women's league in 2005 or 2006, will meet with business leaders and sports executives Monday and Tuesday in New York to hammer out a business model that can be sold to potential investors and sponsors.
The WUSA Business Strategy Summit will be led by G&H International Services and Touchstone Consulting Group, Washington, D.C., consultants who have been working, on a pro-bono basis, with league officials on creation of a viable business plan. Both firms work with the government; former Washington Freedom midfielder Lindsay Stoecker works for G&H International Services.
Also participating in the summit, according to a media advisory, will be ''former and prospective owners/investors, executives and managers from major and minor leagues and teams, sponsors, sports marketing experts and others.''
''We'll come away [from the summit] with the details of a business plan,'' WUSA Commissioner Tony DiCicco said following last month's WUSA Festivals in Blaine, Minn., and Carson, Calif. ''I believe within two to four weeks, we'll have something to take out into the marketplace.''
The WUSA suspended operations last September after spending more than $100 million in the buildup to the league and its first three seasons. Work on a business plan has been ongoing since last fall, with league officials seeking feedback from potential investors and sponsors. Once a business model has been finalized, the league will begin to approach these potential investors and sponsors, seeking partners — and much-needed capital — for a relaunch.
DiCicco said it was likely a full relaunch would wait until 2006, but that there would be some sort of WUSA season — more involved than this year's schedule, which was four games over successive weekends — in 2005.