The WNBA tipped off the 2024 Regular Season last night in four cities across the United States. The highly-anticipated debut of Caitlin Clark brought the masses out to a sold-out Mohegan Sun Arena. A sold-out crowd in Connecticut eagerly awaited the first points from the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer. Clark finally scored a lay-up toward the end of the first half to send that crowd of road fans into a frenzy. Caitlin Clark finished with 20 points in the 92-71 loss.
However, that was not the only game on the WNBA slate last night. Did the hype from the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships from just two months ago translate into butts into seats for the WNBA?
Opening Night Success for WNBA in Connecticut
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The Connecticut Sun have made seven straight post-season appearances. While they have not yet claimed a WNBA Championship, their fans have become accustomed to watching a competitive team year after year. It is undeniable that the debut of Caitlin Clark impacted attendance with Connecticut drawing an extra 2,000 fans to see the Sun’s home opener against the Indiana Fever.
Las Vegas, Seattle, and Washington D.C. also hosted home games with solid across-the-board numbers. So, it wasn’t JUST the Caitlin Clark impacting attendance numbers. However, according to early returns, Clark’s star power certainly is not hurting the league.
Las Vegas Parties With Fans 10K Fans, Mystics Max Building
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The Las Vegas Aces celebrated their back-to-back WNBA Championships with 10,000 fans on Tuesday night. Vegas stuffed 10,191 people into the Michelob ULTRA Arena during last year’s Title celebrations. Last night, the Aces found two hundred extra seats to improve that number for this season’s season opener to 10,419.
The Washington Mystics reached a maximum capacity of 4,200 fans at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. for the season opener. This is the same total the team drew last year’s WNBA season tip-off at home.
The only minor decline the WNBA saw in attendance occurred in Seattle, Washington. Last year, the Storm drew 10,728 to watch Seattle in a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup matchup with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. With a less marquee matchup against the Minnesota Lynx last night, Seattle still managed to draw 8,508 fans through the turnstiles.
Also Read: WNBA Debut of Superstar Players In 2024
Remaining Opening Season Games Tonight
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Four teams still await their WNBA season-staring contests this evening. Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky will meet the Dallas Wings. The College Park Center in Arlington, TX seats around 7,000 fans for its’ basketball setup. Last season’s opening contest against the Atlanta Dream reported a 5,588 attendance figure. It will be fascinating to see if close-by LSU fans will travel to Texas for Reese’s first pro run on the hardwood.
A bit later in the evening, the Atlanta Dream will face the LA Sparks for a West Coast battle. The Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long State University holds a capacity of 4,000 hoop fans. Los Angeles opened their 2023 season against the Phoenix Mercury in front of 10,000 fans! That stat does not apply to our purpose in this discussion since that game occurred at the much larger Crypto.com Arena.
About the Author
Christopher Babos is a genuine sports & entertainment journalist with diverse credentials in writing, broadcasting, and digital media. With a varied professional background that includes an M.B.A. in Sports Management from Tiffin University, Chris can speak with authority on the subject matters that he covers. Additional insightful sports articles can be located here.
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