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Ticket sales ahead of the highly anticipated start of the WNBA have shot up over last year and many are pointing to the talent expected to join next year’s team rosters.
Notable college basketball players entering the WNBA draft include NCAA tournament stars Angel Reese of Louisiana State University and the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark.
It’s no surprise that professional women’s basketball teams are anticipating crowds. Women’s college basketball has exploded in popularity this year.
ESPN reported 12.3 million people across the U.S. tuned in to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, featuring a battle of Clark versus Reese, with Iowa victorious over LSU, 94-87.
“That makes it one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than NFL football over the past year,” ESPN reported.
The 60 women’s tournament games are averaging viewership of 1.5 million each, a 127% increase over last year.
In-person attendance has varied, as women’s tournament venues had a lot fewer seats than the arenas for the men’s games. That, combined with increased demand, pushed ticket prices for the women’s tournaments higher compared with tickets for the men’s tournaments.
The higher average prices for Women’s Final Four games is a continuing trend from last year, according to StubHub.
“Ticket sales for the women’s semifinal has seen the biggest jump in sales for any ticket type among both the men’s and women’s games since Monday, more than doubling sales from last year, showing the continued momentum for women’s basketball,” Adam Budelli, spokesperson for StubHub, told CNN.
“Right now, women’s basketball is a movement,” broadcaster and analyst Isis Young told ESPN. “And the movement is really riding on the back of these players that we’re watching.”
The women’s tournament is generating as much or more enthusiasm than the men’s, and “unlikely sources like crowd sizes, ticket prices and gushing sports announcers prove it,” Susan Shaw, a women’s and gender studies professor at Oregon State University, wrote in Forbes.
The teams’ investment in their rosters and the dedicated fan bases that are flocking to stadiums are pushing ticket demand.
Almost immediately after Clark announced her plans to enter the WNBA draft, the Indiana Fever ticket offices got busier, reported the Associated Press. The Fever, which has the first pick in next year’s draft, wouldn’t disclose how many tickets have been sold, but the likelihood of signing Clark is already boosting the franchise and in turn attendance.
The ripple effect is expected to be felt across the WNBA, including in Los Angeles.
As of Thursday, Los Angeles Sparks fans can expect higher ticket prices for popular events such as a game against the Fever in May that will cost about $112 to $140 on StubHub.
That’s a huge increase compared to last season when a Times editor purchased four tickets to see the Sparks battle the Fever in July for less than $16 total, not including tax and service fees.
The Sparks ticket prices for next season are comparable or at times higher than current Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavalier tickets on StubHub.
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