TUPELO WAITS TO SEE WHETHER TWO TEAMS CAN SURVIVE

It's fourth-and-goal for the future of professional sports in Tupelo, Miss.

The rural city an hour southeast of Memphis is waiting to see whether its 34,211 residents can and will support two new minor league professional sports. So far, it's a toss-up.

The T-Rex, a 3-year-old franchise in the Western Professional Hockey League, averaged 2,196 fans for its 35 home games this season. The football-playing Fire Ants, part of the first-year National Indoor Football League, begin their home schedule May 26 after six consecutive road games.

"We know we need the attendance in hockey to grow for us to survive here," said Julianna Nykolaiszyn, a spokesperson for both teams.

NIFL president Carolyn Shiver said 3,100 per game is the league's typical break-even point. The BancorpSouth Center holds 7,300 for both sports.

Pro sports teams in Tupelo have a checkered past. In 1997, the upstart Eastern Indoor Soccer League located a franchise there. The team struggled to gain an audience and, after the first season, it moved to Florida. The league folded the next year.

In 1998, an independent minor league baseball group established a team at the 1,000-seat city-owned ballpark. Two years later -- after the city paid to renovate its field -- the league folded and the team disbanded.

The city was leery when the WPHL approached. Sponsors and fans feared yet another sports setback after financing problems nearly sent the hockey team into bankruptcy in its first season. The WPHL found new owners for the team.

"We've learned some things about bringing sports here," said Phil Sullivan, the city's chief operations officer. "Buying the team is like buying a new house or car -- you have an initial investment, but then you have ongoing expenses that you'd better be prepared for."

Sullivan said the city did not have an ownership role in any of the franchises, although it does own the Bancorp South Center and the hockey club's ice-making equipment.

TALE OF TWO CITIES

How the cities of Cape Girardeau and Tupelo, Miss., and their counties compare:

CAPE GIRARDEAU TUPELO

City population 35,349 34,211

Change from 1990 +2.5% +11.5%

County population 68,693 75,755

Change from 1990 +11.5% +15.5%

Colleges Southeast None

Pro sports None Hockey, football

Arena capacity* 5,500 7,300

*For hockey, football