This weekend’s rematch between basketball rivals Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese is already setting new marks.
According to TickPick, ticket prices for Clark’s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky are the highest ever for a WNBA game, with the average hovering around $253 — 187% higher than the Sky’s average purchase price of $88. Currently, the cheapest seat to see the game is roughly $250, with the most expensive ticket on sale costing more than $9,000.
The opponents have met three times this season in the WNBA. Previous meetings between the former collegiate rivals were close, physical events that drew national attention and set TV ratings records.
According to CBS, last Sunday’s WNBA game between the Fever and Sky was the most-watched on any network in 23 years, with an average of 2.25 million people and a peak of nearly 3 million. The Fever won 91-83 and are 2-0 versus the Sky this season.
Excitement for this weekend’s game is so great that ticket prices are 116% more than last season’s Chicago Bulls home game tickets, which averaged $117, according to TickPick.
Clark is not new to raising ratings: The NCAA women’s basketball tournament championship game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and her Iowa Hawkeyes received approximately 19 million viewers, breaking Nielsen’s record for the most-watched women’s collegiate basketball game ever.
Clark, Reese, and other high-profile players have helped the WNBA have its best-attended first month in 26 years, with the league just declaring that it was the most-watched start of the season games ever across all six networks that aired games.
People of colour and young fans have turned to the WNBA, with viewership among people of colour increasing by 60% year on year, according to the league, with a significant increase among Hispanic and Black audiences.
