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)