Ackerman, WNBA have concerns.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

FORT LAUDERDALE _ With the WNBA's fifth season now complete, Val Ackerman is looking ahead to 2002.

Her concerns are shared with players and coaches who want to see the nation's only women's professional basketball league succeed.

"One of the challenges that we have is to manage the growth," said the WNBA president. "We have grown very quickly, faster than we had envisioned. Coming out of the box, we didn't expect to have doubled in size after just a few years. That really wasn't charted.

"So, I think that one of our challenges is managing the growth, managing the way that we add teams and managing how to grow the schedule. The biggest challenge that we have going forward, as it relates to growth, is growing the audience. For any sports league, it's vital that you attract fans. That you keep the fans that you have and that you bring in new fans, whether it be in an arena or on television. So that area, fan development, is one that we'll continue to spend a great deal of time and effort on in the next couple years."

Parity in the league and the end of the Houston Comets' four-year championship reign seemed to attract interest.

The title series opener in Charlotte was listed as a sellout (16,132), but there were plenty of empty seats for Game 1. The Sting has never been one of the league's top draws. While most teams experienced dips in attendance, the Sol avoided the "sophomore jinx" in its second year of existence.

"I think what's remarkable about this particular year is that, to a degree, every team was in it this year," Ackerman said. "Every team was competitive. We had teams from last year like Seattle and Portland who, in one fell swoop with the draft, upgraded their rosters into competitive teams. We have an expansion, second-year team making it to the playoffs for the first time in Miami.