Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm after getting drafted as the No.1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She broke multiple rookie records and led Indiana to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
Clark’s impact wasn’t restricted to the WNBA court. The league saw a huge impact on ticket sales following her debut. Here’s how the former Iowa Hawkeyes point guard changed the WNBA’s dynamics, on and off the court.
Caitlin Clark’s Influence on WNBA Ticket Sales
Clark and Co. kicked off the 29th WNBA season with a 93-58 win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday, May 17. However, they suffered a narrow 91-90 loss against the Atlanta Dream in their second game of the season.
Indiana will go head-to-head against Atlanta at State Farm Arena on Thursday, May 22. Ticket sales at TickPick have reportedly hit the roof. This game has seen twice the ticket sales as every other home game for the Dream combined. Fans are expected to turn up in huge numbers to witness the prodigy.
The Indiana Fever face the Atlanta Dream tonight at State Farm Arena@TickPick has sold TWICE as many tickets for this game as all other Dream home games combined this season
That’s the Caitlin Clark effect 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ChgHIm5BWD
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
Clark’s first game of the season against the Sky was the most-viewed game in the WNBA since 2000, drawing over 2.7 million viewers. It was the same story last season as well. Broadcaster hit new peaks in WNBA viewership during games during Clark’s rookie year, with the W topping one million views in 22 games, per the WNBA.
The youngster’s impact was also visible last season. The league’s total attendance rose nearly 50%, breaching the 2.3 million mark. The sellouts jumped from 45 to 154, and per-game attendance also increased to 9,807 from 6,615, being attributed in part to “the Caitlin Clark effect.”
The Fever was the only team to have over 20,000 fans in attendance. They also set the record for the highest attendance in a WNBA single game, drawing 20,711 fans in the fixture against the Washington Mystics. They also broke the single-season attendance record for a WNBA team with a combined footfall of 340,715 fans.
Indiana’s games averaged over 17,000 fans in attendance, a 425% increase from last season. Four teams had to shift their games against Clark’s side to meet the ticket demands.
Merchandise sales and social media engagement rocketed after Clark’s WNBA debut. Per Fanatics, Clark’s jersey was the best-selling WNBA jersey and second-best in the US, only behind the Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry.
Clark’s Indiana jersey disappeared from the shelves an hour after her draft selection. She was the WNBA assist leader, WNBA Rookie of the Year, and AP Female Athlete of the Year in her first season in the league. She also made it to the WNBA All-Star game and was named in the All-WNBA First Team as well.