Like Caitlin Clark, Fever broke WNBA attendance records in 2024

INDIANAPOLIS – Of course, the last game of the regular season for the Indiana Fever on Thursday night at Capital One Arena it had to be the largest crowd in league history.

It fittingly capped off a tremendous offshoot not only for Caitlin Clark, but for the Fever as well league and the sport of women’s basketball. The Fever’s 2024 attendance was 643,343.

For comparison, the next highest was the New York Liberty this season with 434,993 fans, which includes home and on the road. So does the Fever total written above. And there’s more: Of the other 11 teams in the league, nine of their franchise’s most-attended home games this season have involved the Fever. The nine games total 138,486 fans.

In 2023, the Las Vegas Aces led the league in overall attendance with 343,663 fans (The Fever reached number 10). So, taking the nine games this season that the Fever played on the road and saw the biggest attendance for any other team, that’s 40.30% of the Aces’ total attendance in 2023. And they won the WNBA Finals. Only nine games — out of 40. That’s remarkable.

The exemptions are the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun. The Liberty’s most attended home game this season was against the Chicago Sky, as 17,758 fans packed the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Fever, of course, were second with 17,735 fans in May’s season-opening contest. That’s just shy of 23 fans, and if added, that would be 45.46% of the Aces crowd – not 40%.

The sun, however, is on an island. Fever they were Connecticut’s most attended home games at the time in May and June, but were tied with five other teams because of the static 8,910 in Mohegan Sun Arena. In August, the Suns turned up at Boston’s TD Garden, where the Celtics play. More than 19,000 people showed up to see it THE Sun beat Los Angeles Sparks.

It is the 19th most frequent games in league regular season history.

The 20th is this season’s Fever in Los Angeles. Okay, okay, so yeah, the Fever can’t take thousands of credit for the Suns’ historic home crowd. But it is promising to witness. The right matchup being moved to bigger venues is essential for the WNBA. It should be maintained. Many opponents did when the Fever came to town: the Aces, the Dream, and the Mystics.

The Aces playing in T-Mobile Arena made way for about 10,000 more, and that’s pretty much the same as the Sun walking into the garden. The Atlanta Dream only went to State Farm Arena twice – when the Fever played South – they still allowed about 13,000. The Mystics going to Capital One added anywhere from 6,000 to 16,000 people, as seen on Thursday.

The stock and demand for women’s basketball is growing.

But bigger seats don’t automatically mean growth, what else?

WNBA 2024 returned to attendance levels not seen since the early 2000s. This season, for all the entertainment, drama and talent, didn’t even draw the largest crowds. This is from the 2002 WNBA season with 2,364,736 seats. The single-game high was 19,766. This year it doesn’t go very well: 2,353,755, respectively 20,711.

Totals can be misleading because the number of games played varies by season.

Here is the list of average frequency per year and where they rank. Look at 2024 and where 2023 falls.

1. 1998: 10,868.73

2. 1999: 10,205.07

3. 2024: 9,807.31

5. 2002: 9,237.25

24. 2023: 6,614.53

The Fever owns the all-time season average with 16,083.58, surpassing the 1998 Liberty (13,398.07).

Last season’s teams played in large arenas such as T-Mobile, Capital One, Crypto, as well as Footprint and Barclays Center. But those games didn’t rise as steeply as the games this season. The second best-attended game last season was the Fever at Capital One’s Mystics, which drew 14,406. The most frequent match barely exceeded 17,000.

He wasn’t poor by any means, but that was back then.

Thirty-three games this season have eclipsed 17,000 fans. The Fever played in 29.

“I think I’m part of history,” seven-year veteran Kelsey Mitchell said in Washington in June. “I’ll take it … it’s a good thing for women’s basketball. I’m playing alongside this kid (Clark), so it makes it a little bit more dramatic, and people come out to see this person.”

“Our organization can feed off of it, the state of Indiana,” Mitchell added.

Caitlin Clark, Fever attendance records in 2024 compared to 2023

There is no debate Caitlin Clark it is not the only reason for the canon of spectators in the WNBA. When the 2024 NCAA National Championship between Clark’s Iowa team and undefeated South Carolina peaked at 24.1 million viewers, it was a prelude to what was to come for the league. Sixteen of the Fever’s 20 home games this season have been sold out, or an automatic 17,274.

“The WNBA in general and where the attendance is, it’s just night and day,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said. “The atmosphere is incredible. Sold out crowds every night, including pre-season games. I mean, that’s how it’s been from day one for us. I think that’s another way we’re preparing for the playoffs and how that’s going to feel for us.”

Clark’s stardom and fandom, dating back to her days in Iowa, has drawn the exceptional talent from the WNBA to casual and new viewers. The entire rookie class features, including Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson and more. They provided the storyline for 2024, which resulted in a record 2.45 million viewers on Draft Day. It is cast outward.

And 3.44 million watched the WNBA All-Star Game, which broke the attendance record for the fest itself and most other events in league history. Obviously, Clark and Reese attended. But so did many other veterans, and their talent was showcased. And now that’s spilling over into television ratings, which Clark has also dominated in addition to in-person crowds.

Six networks set attendance records in games in which Clark played.

Of the 23 games that had more than 1 million viewers, Clark and the Fever played in 20. Before this season, no WNBA game had averaged seven figures in attendance since 2008.

The Fever’s 340,715 home attendance blew away the 2002 Mystics by about 81,000. Their peak decibels this season should have been in July in the win over the Liberty and near the end of August in the win over the Sun. Both have prevented seasonal changes and are the peaks of this season of change. Now the Fever need to beat the Sun once to turn the tide of the playoffs.

They play Connecticut Sunday afternoon in Game 1 and Wednesday night in the best-of-three series.

Game 3 would be Friday in Indianapolis, certainly sold out and certainly loud.

“They come regardless of game time,” Aliyah Boston said. “We use that.”

Indiana’s home attendance of 340,715 is tied — a single sellout to be exact — with the franchise’s total attendance in 2022 and 2023 combined. Oh, and six of the top seven teams in total attendance all-time appeared this season: Fever (643,343), Liberty (434,993), Aces (425,196), Sparks (422,394), Seattle Storm (407,512) and Phoenix Mercury ( 403,538 ).

“Shoutout Caitlin,” NaLyssa Smith said Thursday of the record 20,711 viewers. And three more expansion teams are on the way.

More places for Clark to sign autographs, which he always takes the time to do in the yard.