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Jai Alai Flouders, Fan Base Shrinks

FLORIDA – As reported by the New York Times: "The players arrive at the fronton parking lot eight times a week, in beat-up cars with peeling paint, or on bicycle or on foot, and they compete in more than 2,000 games a year. In interviews, they express the same dire concerns: playing professional jai alai has lost its sheen, and the fast-paced game, once an attraction to aspiring athletes and thousands of fans across the country, is flirting with extinction.

"…Until the early 1990's, there were 14 frontons — buildings that house jai alai courts — operating in four states: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Nevada and Florida. More than 600 players participated in matches that generated millions of dollars in legal wagering. Now, only two frontons hold competitions year-round — here at Dania Beach Jai Alai, and about 20 miles south at Miami Jai Alai.

"…During peak hours, these facilities feel like out-of-the-way bus stations, sprinkled with a few dozen committed gamblers, a handful of aging jai alai loyalists and teenage couples looking to sneak kisses in dark corners.

"…The fronton owners have tried to bring fans back, with little success. General admission has been dropped to $1.50. Beer and hot dogs have been sold for a quarter apiece. Waitresses from local Hooters restaurants have been used.

"…They say the game — believed to have started in the 1850's when a poor village boy in the Basque country borrowed his mother's wicker basket to play handball against a church wall — will soon disappear from the Florida landscape…"

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