Written by Amy Tennelly
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A star-studded draft class headlined by record-breaker Caitlin Clark is set to shake up the WNBA when the season opens on Tuesday amid unprecedented interest in the league.
Teams are scrambling to move games to larger venues as ticket sales soar, and the league just days ago launched a charter flight program for players, committing $50 million to the policy over the next two years. It is said that he invested in it.
Players and coaches say fundamental changes are coming to the WNBA after decades when the men's “Big Four” dominated American sports.
“It's not business as usual anymore. And this has been brewing for a while,” Minnesota Lynx head coach Sheryl Reeve told reporters.
“We've been riding waves. But this is a bit of a tsunami.”
Clark and the charismatic cast, including Chicago Sky's Angel Reese and Los Angeles Sparks' Cameron Brink, have received much praise.
A record 2.45 million viewers watched Clark break the all-time college scoring record at the University of Iowa before being selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft.
Her final college game against South Carolina drew the largest television audience for a U.S. basketball game since 2019 at all levels of the sport, men's and women's.
Clark went on to become the highest-selling draft pick in sportswear maker Fanatics' history, with brands lining up to make deals for the 6-foot guard.
“Perhaps in the history of the women's game, no athlete has been put in a stronger spotlight, under a bigger microscope, than Caitlin Clark. And she always lived in the moment,” she said in her first year in 1997. said ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo, a Hall of Famer who played in the league since.
“She seems like a player who is a little bit unfazed by what we see as pressure and expectations.”
'Unprecedented'
For veteran players, the increased interest is not surprising.
The league enjoyed its most high-profile season in more than 20 years last year, boosted by the popularity of two “superteams”: the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces.
“We felt it last season,” MVP Brianna Stewart told reporters. “This tipping point and this movement has been a long time coming.”
The hugely popular champion Las Vegas Aces will move their July 2 game against the Clarks Fever from their home Michelob Ultra Arena to a larger venue, the 18,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena. .
The Los Angeles Sparks were originally scheduled to play their first five home games at Long Beach State due to renovations at Crypto.com Arena. They moved three contests, including a May 24 meeting with the Fever, from the university facility to an arena they share with the NBA's Lakers.
“Women's basketball is seeing unprecedented viewership and attendance, so bringing these games back to Crypto.com Arena will bring even more fans into the stands,” Sparks President Christine Monger said in a statement. can be collected.''
WNBA game sales on StubHub nearly doubled from last season, following a multi-year growth trend. The Fever has played in nine of the 10 best-selling games on ticket resale platforms this season.
Clark told the crowd of reporters at his preseason press conference that he was ready for this moment.
“This is something that the league and the players in this league have deserved for a really long time,” Clark said.
The Indiana Fever opens the season on the road Tuesday against the Connecticut Sun.
(Reporting by Amy Tennelly in New York; Editing by Toby Davis)