WNBA Breaks Season Attendance Record
NEW YORK – With just two and a half weeks left in the WNBA regular season, the league has already surpassed its all-time single-season attendance record.This Thursday, league officials reported that the 13 teams that make it up have received a total of 2,501,609 fans throughout 226 games played this season. This figure exceeds the previous record, set in 2002, when the league had 16 teams.
In 2002, the WNBA needed 256 games to reach that mark. The surge in popularity of women’s college basketball, initially fueled by the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, carried over to the WNBA last season, coinciding with the debut of Clark and Reese as rookies. Packed stadiums became commonplace for Clark and the Indiana Fever. Despite Clark and Reese’s injuries this season, ticket sales haven’t decreased, thanks to the arrival of rookie guard Paige Bueckers in Dallas, the excitement generated by the expansion of the Golden State Valkyries, and increased television coverage. After expanding the schedule from 40 to 44 games this season, the WNBA is on track to break the previous attendance record.
