Caitlin Clark has arrived in the WNBA, and the fever-pitch around her first game for the Indiana Fever is, well… feverish. Clark is making her debut on Friday night with Indiana set to face the Dallas Wings in their opening game of preseason, and it’s become one of the hottest tickets in all of sports.
At the time of writing there are scant few tickets left, and those available are through the roof compared to an average WNBA preseason game. Lower level seats are selling for as much at $791 each, while even nosebleeds are selling for $68 or more.
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This isn’t some one-off event either. Clark tickets have been selling out around the WNBA in preparation of her rookie season. In Indiana regular season courtside seats to the Fever are now selling for more than PLAYOFF seats to the Pacers.
The Caitlin Clark effect in Indianapolis:
Courtside tickets to her Fever debut cost double compared to Pacers playoff tickets, per @gametime.
Fever courtside seats = $2,453
Pacers courtside seats = $1,220Clark is becoming one of the biggest draws in sports. pic.twitter.com/O50uAqEOav
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) April 17, 2024
For one example of how hot Clark tickets have become it’s costing $415 in Minnesota to get a 100 level ticket to see the Fever face the Lynx. Meanwhile, $550 will get you FIVE courtside seats in a flex package that doesn’t involve the Fever.
Without even shooting a single shot as a pro yet, Clark is already the biggest revenue driver the WNBA has seen in YEARS. If she’s able to live up to the hyper (and there’s no reason she won’t) this could lead to increased profitability in the WNBA, which in turn could result in higher salaries, better travel, and league expansion.
All from one phenom further proving the appetite for women’s basketball is growing in the United States.
This is Caitlin Clark’s world, and we’re just living (and paying) in it.
