WNBA already boosted by Clark
NEW YORK — Soon after Caitlin Clark announced her plans to enter the WNBA draft pool, the Indiana Fever’s ticket offices got noticeably busier.
“We’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm online and on social media,” Pacers Sports and Entertainment wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. “The organization has also seen the enthusiasm lead to a spike in ticket inquiries.”
The Fever wouldn’t disclose how many tickets they’ve sold. Still, getting the Iowa Hawkeyes star with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft would be a boost to the franchise, which was second-to-last in attendance last season, averaging 4,067 fans at home games.
“It’s Clarkonomics,” basketball analyst Deb Antonelli said. “Her ability to move the meter and the excitement around her is incredible. The socially acceptable thing to do is to watch Caitlin Clark play basketball.”
Antonelli worked for the Fever for 18 years and thinks the only thing that has resembled the excitement around Clark being drafted No. 1 was the team’s run to the WNBA title in 2012.
Clark has set numerous records this season as a senior for the Hawkeyes and is on the verge of becoming the top-scoring player in men’s or women’s NCAA history. She has driven interest in women’s basketball to unprecedented levels with her deep 3-pointers and ball-handling skills.
The draft is on April 15, and the Fever hinted in a social media post that they plan to select her.
It wasn’t just in Indiana where fans were trying to get tickets. In Connecticut, nearly 800 tickets were sold in 24 hours for the Sun’s May 14 season opener against the Fever. That equaled the amount of individual tickets sold for the game up to that point, excluding the team’s 2,500 season-ticket holders.
“We typically have bumps in our ticket sales for league rivals, reigning champions, and of course when former (University of Connecticut) Huskies come to town,” Connecticut Sun team president Jennifer Rizzotti told AP. “This may be the first time that a non-UConn player has drawn this type of interest from our fan base. We understand the anticipation is that Caitlin will be on the Indiana roster, and it’s amazing to witness the excitement the last 24 hours surrounding her first WNBA game here in Connecticut.”
Many WNBA teams don’t have individual game tickets on sale yet, but they can expect strong sales for Fever games. Clark and Iowa have sold out nearly all their road games the past two seasons. Tickets for her regular-season home finale against No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday were among the most expensive in women’s college basketball history.
“I’ve never seen a player with this impact on the road or on the ratings,” ESPN basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo said. “The first year of the league there was hype around Lisa (Leslie), Sheryl (Swoopes) and me with a lot of commercials, but there wasn’t the hype where people could watch us play like there has been with Caitlin.”
The Las Vegas Aces, the reigning champions who led the league in attendance last year and already have surpassed 8,000 season tickets, sold an additional 300 since Clark made her announcement.
ESPN hasn’t announced its broadcast schedule yet, and the network showed only one Indiana game last season. Expect that number to rise this year. Six networks had record viewership for Clark’s games over the last two years.
Clark spoke Friday about what went into her decision and the timing of it, saying she wanted the information out ahead of senior day.
“And honestly, just getting the weight of the world off my shoulders and being able to enjoy this last month with my teammates, I think is the biggest thing,” she added.
Clark said she had known “for a little while” what she planned to do, adding that the Iowa coaching staff has been supportive as she made her decision.
“I mean, you’re obviously disappointed because you want her to come back. Right?” Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder said. “I mean, she’s a tremendous player, and we would have loved to have had her come back. But also, our job is to help them for four years and to support them as best as we can and try to prepare them for the next chapter in their lives.
“Her four years are up, even though she could come back for another year. She’s ready for a new challenge.”