Promoter pours cold water on Jordan's Jakarta visit

Promoter pours cold water on Jordan's Jakarta visit

JAKARTA (JP): It is very unlikely that National Basketball
Association great Michael Jordan will come here for a week-long
show in August, according to promoter Ary Sudarsono.

Jordan is projected to entertain Indonesian basketball fans in
the finals of the Indonesian Basketball League this year (Aug. 7
to 10) at Istora Senayan stadium. It was also expected that he
would give basketball in Indonesia a popularity boost by giving
coaching sessions in seven cities.

"No agreements have been reached thus far. He and his agency
remain firm in demanding an appearance fee which we can't
afford," Ary said yesterday, declining to mention the sum.

The 45-year-old promoter has secured financial support from
Suwadi Bing Andi, the general affairs manager of the West
Javanese textile giant Hadtex Panasia Indosyntex to bring Jordan
to Indonesia. Suwadi, who was not at his office in Bandung
yesterday, was unavailable for comment.

Ary said that in addition to the appearance fee, which amounts
billions of rupiah, Jordan demanded a presidential suite in
Jakarta's best hotel, limousine services and other luxurious
amenities. Ary quoted Suwadi as saying that such demands were too
much.

"Deep in my heart I want Jordan here. But I must be
realistic...," said Ary, himself a basketball player with
Masagana 99 club in Manila, the Philippines, from 1979 to 1982.

However, if there is another party who agrees to cover 75
percent of the amount demanded by Jordan, this financial problem
will be solved, Ary told The Jakarta Post.

In 1994, Ary, with financial back-up from a young
businessperson from the Gunung Agung group, whose name he
declined to reveal, tried to bring NBA legend Earvin Magic
Johnson to Jakarta, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Johnson, an
HIV-positive athlete, was denied a visa because government
officials were uneasy about having him here.

"We had reached an agreement with Johnson. The deal, worth
about Rp 2 billion, included airfares, accommodation, production
costs and the costs for bringing an Australian basketball team
here as Johnson's opponents," Ary recalled.

The situation is different now, Ary said, even if Jordan
agrees to be paid Rp 1 billion for appearing here, it is simply
impossible for us to make profit from his visit.

Istora Senayan stadium can accommodate up to 12,000
spectators. To cover a Rp 1 billion fee from ticket sales, each
ticket would have to be sold for Rp 100,000, which is more than
anyone would want to pay. Finding sponsors who are ready to spend
a great sum of money for Jordan's visit is not easy either. Ary
pointed out that most of the country's biggest sponsors have been
dragged into sponsoring Indonesian athletes for more important
events such as the National Games (Sept. 9 to 20), the Olympic
Games in Atlanta, U.S., (July 19 to Aug. 4) and the 19th Southeast
Asian Games next year, to which Jakarta will play host.

Thus, the only choice left is to bring NBA rookie of the year
Jerry Stackhouse here instead of Jordan. Stackhouse has asked for
a Rp 600 million appearance fee, which, according to Ary, is
okay. "A contract with Stackhouse can be signed at anytime. But
we are still hoping Jordan and his agency will change their
minds," Ary said.

However, Ary said, he felt embarrassed when someone told him
that such a large sum of money would be more useful for Jakarta's
basketball community if it was used for building a newer, more
modern basketball hall than the old Senayan Basketball Hall.
(arf)