The ‘Caitlin Clark effect‘ has now started to make its impact felt in the WNBA as well. The 2024 first-overall pick seems to have already started benefitting the franchise as the Indiana Fever has bumped up the prices on their season tickets. The 6’1″ sharpshooter will also have help from her long-time rival Angel Reese, as the duo match-up has become the second costliest ticket in town.
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In fact, tickets for the Indiana Fever versus Chicago Sky game are reportedly starting at an astronomical price of $331, a massive 1636% rise from last year’s lowest price, $19. The previous time the two NCAA legends matched up, it ended up breaking viewership records.
More than 12.9 million people tuned in to the semi-final game in March Madness Final Four, this season, between Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and Reese’s LSU squad. The Hawkeyes emerged victorious, completing their revenge against the LSU side for their 2023 Championship game defeat.
Clark is definitely the bigger crowd-puller among the two, as more than 18.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the sharpshooter’s final collegiate game in the NCAA final against South Carolina, last month. As a reward for Caitlin Clark’s crowd-drawing capacity, the Indiana Fever has been awarded the top 10 costliest match-ups for this year’s WNBA season. Further, this has even compelled a WNBA team to shift their venue to a bigger one.
Caitlin Clark forces teams to change arenas
The 6’1″ guard from Iowa has left the world of women’s basketball completely shaken up. Coupled with other stars of her draft, this year’s class might be the best one in the WNBA. In fact, this year’s WNBA draft attracted over 2.45 million viewers. Fans tuned in to watch Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink take the next step in their basketball journey.
After the draft, the schedule for the upcoming WNBA season was also revealed, as tickets went on sale immediately after. While everyone expected a significant rise in prices and demand for season tickets, no one expected that teams would have to make changes in venues to accommodate the rising demand for tickets.
That’s right, the Washington Mystics are moving their June 7th game against the Indiana Fever to a larger venue, Capitol One Arena, due to ‘unprecedented demand‘, a move that even the city’s mayor applauded. The Capitol One Arena boasts a significantly larger capacity with 20,000 seats, compared to 4,200 seats in the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
