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Ticket prices climb as New York City gets Caitlin Clark fever
By
Precious Fondren
Published Apr 14, 2024
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Thien-An Truong/ISI Photos / Getty
By
Precious Fondren
Published Apr 14, 2024
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If you want to see basketball phenomenon Caitlin Clark, it’s going to cost you.
The college star hasn’t even been drafted by the Indiana Fever yet – that’s expected to happen Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music – but ticket prices to Fever games in the tristate area have already climbed, with some approaching as high as several thousand dollars.
“I don’t want anyone to say the Caitlin Clark effect isn’t real,” said X user Katie Perez, who posted a side-by-side comparison of ticket prices to a WNBA game last year versus this year.
Tickets for Clark’s expected WNBA debut against the Connecticut Sun on May 14 at the Mohegan Sun Arena are starting at $95 as of Friday, according to Ticketmaster. Some courtside tickets for that game are priced at more than $2,700 each on the resale market, according to Ticketmaster.
Tickets to a Sun game against the Washington Mystics just a few days later start at $25.
The lowest priced ticket for the New York Liberty home opener on May 18, which is expected to be Clark’s WNBA debut in the Big Apple, is $93 as of Friday, according to Ticketmaster. Some floor seats for that game are on the resale market on Ticketmaster for over $5,900.
A New York Liberty game last year.
Photo by Rajji Vikram / Gothamist
At Vivid Seats, tickets for the Liberty home opener were starting at $92 as of Friday – but to see the team play the Seattle Storm just two days later, tickets start at $31.
The so-called Caitlin Clark effect is happening across the country, as the player drives up interest and ticket prices for games she’s expected to play in.
Amber Batchelor, the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Ladies Who Hoop, said it’s been hard not to hear about Clark these days since she’s “new” and “exciting.”
“She also happens to be a phenomenal player,” Batchelor said. “Whenever you can get a chance to witness greatness in person, I think people want to be a part of that.”
Batchelor said she’s looked into buying group tickets for the Liberty season opener against the Indiana Fever in May.
“They only have nosebleed seats for group sales and the ticket prices are close to $100, which is a little bit higher than what we've seen in the past,” she said.
Prior to entering the WNBA, Clark already made history in her college career as a point guard for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.
In March, she broke a 54-year-old record for scoring the most points in an NCAA Division I basketball career. Pete Maravich set the previous record in 1970.
Clark also set records for getting people to watch women’s basketball. In October, more than 55,000 people filled a football stadium to see her play in an exhibition game against DePaul University – making it the most attended women’s basketball game in NCAA history.
Citing data from ESPN, the New York Times reported that during the regular season, every away game Clark played sold out, and attendance at those games increased by an average of 13,000 people compared to a non-Iowa game.
Clark’s rising profile has also helped women's NCAA games draw a record number of viewers, with a peak of 24 million people watching this year’s Championship.
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Precious Fondren
Precious is a former WNYC & Gothamist culture reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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