Net Profit: A Bargain in Diamonds

Jud Phillips is a dreamer who has always wanted to own a professional sports team. Phillips, who owns four McDonald’s franchises, knew he wasn’t in the same league as Lamar Hunt and Clint Mur-chison. But he didn’t lose hope. And now Jud Phillips is the proud owner of a pro team – the Dallas Diamonds. Who? The Dallas Diamonds are the local entry in the WBL. What? The Women’s Basketball League.

It wasn’t the lure of women’s basketball that got Phillips involved. It was, frankly, “the only sports franchise I could get into with my means.” With his two partners, Phillips paid the $100,000 franchise fee and has established a $450,000 annual operating budget. (That might buy about two thirds of the Rangers’ outfield.) But with the Diamonds’ cut-rate salaries (averaging $10,000), Phillips figures he’ll break even if he can average just 2500 to 3000 fans in each of the teams’ 18 home games. Eat your heart out, Brad Corbett.