The Indiana Fever announced Wednesday that their fans this season are engaging with the team in record numbers – from jersey to ticket sales and beyond.
They indicate the team has raised the bar for fan engagement across the WNBA. The numbers are simply staggering according to a press release.
They include:
- A 265% increase in attendance from last season.
- A 1,000% increase in net sales at the Team Store.
- A 1,193% increase in jersey sales.
- An increase of 1.8 million followers on social media.
- A 740% increase in draft beers sold.
Simply put, if you showed your boss at work growth numbers like that, you’d be the new boss.
“This is a historic moment, an inflection point for women’s basketball, and there’s nothing more fitting than Indiana being at the center of it all,” said Mel Raines, Chief Executive Officer of Pacers Sports & Entertainment.
“Over several seasons, we have built a young, talented roster that fans are excited to support, and this is momentum that we will build off for years to come.”
Sure. But that’s not the real reason.
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Caitlin Clark Killing It In Sales For The Fever
With all due respect to Mr. Raines, it isn’t their building of a talented roster over “several seasons.”
It’s this season. It’s Caitlin Clark that is boosting sales.
Nobody was buying Fever merch when the club was only winning 6, 6, 5, and 13 games in the ‘several seasons’ prior to Clark being drafted.
Well, they might have been buying the beer to drown their sorrows, but they sure weren’t buying tickets or shaming themselves by wearing jerseys out in public.
And they certainly weren’t attending their games. The Fever this season lead the league in attendance for both home and away games. Prior to this season, they were at or near the bottom every time.
No matter where the game is played, thousands are coming out specifically for Caitlin Clark.
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Quadrupled Revenue
Last month, it was announced that the WNBA was quadrupling revenue via a $2.2 billion media rights deal. Clark – and let’s not forget her frenemy and rival Angel Reese – becoming must-see television may have been a major factor in that deal.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert recognized the effect Clark was having on the game a while ago. When everyone was saying ‘the rookie class, the rookie class,’ she singled out one person.
“We’re obviously marketing around all of our players, but I think Caitlin’s lifting everybody,” Engelbert said. “Our arenas are packed, our viewership, I mean…”
Clark, who continually sets franchise and league records, earned her first All-Star appearance, and is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, seems set to keep sales numbers surging in the coming years.
