WNBA Attendance is Down (again) in 2006

I cover the WNBA, specifically the Houston Comets, on a daily basis. I've seen the level of play and the level of competition improve from year to year. However, as the talent improves, the attendance continues to decline.

Here are the home attendance figures (through June 23, 2006) for the 14 WNBA teams:
Charlotte -- 4,654.
Chicago -- 3,294.
Connecticut -- 7,237.
Detroit -- 8,877.
Houston -- 6,743.
Indiana -- 7,378.
Los Angeles -- 7,495.
Minnesota -- 6,332.
New York -- 9,809.
Phoenix -- 6,852.
Sacramento -- 8,639.
San Antonio -- 6,665.
Seattle -- 7,794.
Washington -- 6,775.

WNBA AVG. ATTENDANCE -- 6,913.

It's widely believed a WNBA team needs to average at least 7,500 fans in order to "break even". If that belief is correct, nine (not counting the 7495 of the LA Sparks) WNBA teams will lose money this season. That means more than half the league's teams could be in financial trouble. If more than half the teams are having financial difficulties, then the WNBA may be experiencing similar money troubles...

I'm not going to discuss the actual "butts in the seats numbers" because I believe those attendance numbers would make the situation more dire. However, I will state this:
I don't believe nearly 7,000 people per home game have seen the Comets play this season.