The Fever Effect

WNBA’s Attendance Breakthrough

Author

Samuel Rogers
November 05, 2025

🔎 The Fever Effect: From Underdog to League Leader

The Indiana Fever just closed the WNBA regular season with 700,000 fans in attendance — not only leading the league but pulling 100,000 more than the next closest team.

This isn’t just a sports headline. It’s a business case study.

📊 The Data That Matters

1. Indiana Fever by the Numbers

  • 700,000 total fans: Largest in WNBA history for a single franchise.

  • +100K gap over next team → that’s a 17% attendance lead.

  • ~11,600 average per game (Bankers Life Fieldhouse, capacity 17,000).

  • Nearly double the WNBA’s 2023 average of 6,600 fans.

2. League-Wide Growth

  • WNBA crossed 2 million total fans this season → first time ever.

  • Fever alone drove ~35% of that year-over-year growth.

  • Road games featuring Indiana spiked 40–60% higher attendance for host teams.

3. Ticketing Economics

  • Average WNBA ticket price: ~$47.

  • Fever est. gate revenue: $32.9M (3× their 2022 revenue).

  • Add-ons: Parking, concessions, and merchandise easily tack on 20–25% upside.

4. Franchise Valuation Impact

  • Pre-Clark (2023): Fever valued around $35–40M.

  • Projected 2027 trajectory: $150–200M, if attendance sustains.

  • League-wide: WNBA collective valuation now approaches $1B — doubling in under 5 years.

💡 Strategic Insights

  1. The Caitlin Clark Effect
    Just as LeBron did in 2003, Clark is shifting entire market dynamics. She’s not just a Fever asset; she’s a league-wide revenue multiplier.

  2. From Niche to Scale
    Women’s basketball isn’t a side product anymore. With ratings and attendance climbing at NBA-like growth rates (double digits YoY), the WNBA is transitioning into a mainstream growth market.

  3. Investor Blueprint
    What the Fever are showing:

    • Star power = valuation accelerator

    • Attendance = revenue flywheel

    • WNBA = undervalued growth market

📌 Blunt Facts (Cheat Sheet)

  • 700K fans: Indiana Fever lead WNBA in attendance.

  • +17% lead over next closest team.

  • $32.9M ticket revenue est.: 3× increase from 2022.

  • Caitlin Clark impact: 40–60% road attendance spike.

  • WNBA milestone: First 2M+ fan season league-wide.

The Fever aren’t just winning games — they’re rewriting the economics of the WNBA. This is what market inflection looks like: one star, one franchise, one season — and an entire league valuation curve shifts.

Men lie. Women lie. The numbers never do.