The Caitlin Clark Effect: Revitalizing the Indiana Fever
Nearly two decades ago, Conrad Piccirillo attended his first Indiana Fever game. At that time, the WNBA franchise was only five years old and poised to have its best season yet. However, Piccirillo wasn’t there for the basketball; he was supporting his daughters, Caitlyn and Claire, who were members of the Fever Inferno dance team. Their performances ignited his interest, and although his daughters eventually aged out of the troupe, Piccirillo was hooked. He purchased six season tickets and brought friends along, celebrating the Fever’s triumphant 2012 WNBA championship. Yet, as the team struggled with nearly a decade of disappointing seasons, it became increasingly difficult for Piccirillo to convince friends to join him in his premium courtside seats.
Fast forward to 2024, and the landscape has dramatically changed, largely due to the meteoric rise of Caitlin Clark. The Fever has transformed into the hottest ticket in the WNBA, with Piccirillo attending nearly every game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this season. He has reveled in the palpable energy, watching as waves of new fans fall in love with the Fever and the league, much like he did years ago. “I think she’s the perfect fuel on a fire that had been really growing,” Piccirillo remarked about Clark.
Clark’s rookie season signifies not just a new chapter for the Fever, but also a renaissance for Indianapolis, the state of Indiana, and the WNBA as a whole. At Iowa, Clark captivated audiences with her incredible skills — her signature logo 3s and fierce competitive spirit made her a spectacle unlike anything seen in women’s college basketball before. The WNBA and the Fever, who held the No. 1 draft pick, eagerly anticipated that her dazzling performance would spark renewed interest in the league.
As the playoffs commenced on Sunday — even following the Fever’s initial loss to Connecticut — the benefits of investing in Clark were already clear on television screens, in packed stands, and within the marketplace. Even before Clark donned her Fever jersey, she had already exceeded expectations. Only once in the 2000s had a WNBA game attracted 2.4 million viewers, yet on draft night, even more fans tuned in to witness the league commissioner announce Clark’s name. Since that moment, her influence has helped the Fever and the WNBA achieve unprecedented television viewership records.
This season, six different league broadcasters reported record viewership numbers for their highest-rated WNBA games, all featuring the Fever. ION, which aired 43 WNBA games, saw a staggering 133 percent increase in viewership year over year, with each of its seven broadcasts that surpassed 1 million viewers including Fever games. According to Yahoo Sports, NBA TV set its own WNBA viewership record eight times this season, with each occurrence showcasing a Fever game.
ESPN, a longstanding partner of the WNBA, celebrated its most successful year of broadcasting thus far. The inaugural regular-season game between the Fever and the Sky, featuring Clark and rookie rival Angel Reese, emerged as the most-viewed WNBA game in 23 years across any network, drawing in 2.35 million viewers. This record was shattered a month later when the WNBA All-Star Game garnered an astonishing 3.4 million viewers, marking it as the third most-watched WNBA game in history.
However, it’s in Fever home games where the excitement is most tangible. Attendance in Indianapolis reached a record high, averaging 17,036 fans per home game, making it the first time the Fever led the league in attendance. Season ticket sales had already been on the rise, but when Clark announced in February her decision to forgo her fifth season of college eligibility, ticket demand skyrocketed. According to Across the Timeline, the Fever hadn’t ranked in the top half of WNBA average attendance since 2016.
Piccirillo, a dedicated Fever season ticket holder, now wears earplugs during games, as his Apple Watch frequently alerts him that the noise levels might be dangerously high. “It feels like watching Pacers playoff games — that’s how loud it is,” he said. “In my mind, I think it’s even louder.” It wasn’t just Indiana that felt the Clark effect; several Fever opponents, including Las Vegas, Atlanta, Washington, and Los Angeles, relocated at least one home game to larger venues to accommodate the influx of fans eager to see Clark play.
Tamika Catchings, a Hall of Fame forward and Fever legend, remains in Indianapolis and felt a surge of excitement last season when the team, bolstered by 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston, recorded an eight-win improvement. “But last year to this year is insane, how much energy is around,” she expressed. Catchings has observed large retailers that previously didn’t sell Fever merchandise now prominently displaying team gear. Fans frequently visit her local tea shop, Tea’s Me Cafe, buzzing with questions about Clark, Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell. “(Fans) get excited when they see me because they want to talk about the Fever,” she noted. “In past years, it might be that they get excited about seeing me, but that’s it. There’s a genuine energy and interest in: ‘What are your thoughts about the Indiana Fever?’”
Indianapolis has come alive during Fever games. An executive from the city’s tourism department reported a spike in hotel bookings and rentals this summer coinciding with the Fever’s home games. During the 2024 women’s NCAA Tournament, Brent Drescher, general manager of The District Tap, a downtown bar, noted that fans flocked in to watch Iowa women’s basketball, eagerly anticipating Clark’s arrival in town. The bar typically serves Pacers fans, but Fever supporters exhibit even greater enthusiasm, arriving as early as 4 p.m. for late tip-offs.
Jeff Metson, general manager of Taxman CityWay, observed a similar excitement. This brewpub, featuring a beer garden and only four TVs, has become a pregame hotspot due to its proximity to the Fever’s arena, leading to a doubling of staff during game days. On Fever home game nights, he welcomes up to 400 patrons, compared to about 250 on a regular Friday or Saturday evening. “Not only do we fill up the entire restaurant pregame, but like clockwork, two hours after the game starts, we see a steady stream of fans walking past us,” he shared. “Unlike other sports — Pacers or Colts games — our postgame crowd fills the restaurant again. The other sports don’t do that.”
Jaden Brown and his fiancée, first-time season ticket holders, were astonished by the vibrant crowd before the Fever’s inaugural preseason game. “You just see this flood of Fever, Clark, Iowa jerseys,” Brown said. “It’s like a pregame with strangers. But they’re not strangers because you’re all there supporting the same team.” Yet, the Caitlin Clark Effect isn’t limited to Indianapolis. Portland’s The Sports Bra, a bar dedicated exclusively to women’s sports, has seen a significant impact as well. Owner Jenny Nguyen reported a 56 percent increase in bar bills and a 52 percent rise in revenue during Fever games, despite being over 2,000 miles away from Indiana.
Merchandise featuring Clark’s name and likeness has become highly sought after. The laws of supply and demand are clearly illustrated around Fever games, where fans eagerly pay higher ticket prices. As the playoffs approached, the minimum ticket price for the Fever-Sun game reached $89 on TicketMaster, dwarfed by the league’s other Sunday matchups, which averaged just $15. This trend has been consistent throughout the season, with the five highest average ticket prices all associated with the Fever.
| Indiana Fever @ | Average Sold Price | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Sky | $346 | June 23 |
| Chicago Sky | $286 | Aug. 30 |
| Dallas Wings | $269 | Sept. 1 |
| Dallas Wings | $262 | July 17 |
| Washington Mystics | $217 | Sept. 19 |
These figures are remarkable, especially when compared to similar matchups from the previous season. The average price for the Fever’s visit to the Sky in June 2023 was only $45. When Indiana played the Mystics and Wings in July 2023, tickets averaged $59 and $55, respectively. The priciest ticket last season was merely $120 for a regular-season matchup between the Aces and the Dream.
Across the board, WNBA ticket pricing surged, with average prices jumping from $62 per game in 2023 to $109 in 2024 (up to mid-September), according to Vivid Seats. Notably, the Fever experienced the steepest price increase, with home game tickets averaging $110 this season, while the rest of the league averaged $79 per home game. Despite the higher costs, ticket sales continued to rise.
“The fans in Indiana love basketball, and I’m glad to see them back in the seats, especially for the Fever,” remarked Briann January, a former Fever player and current assistant coach with the Sun. “For that team to be recognized and supported the way they should be makes me so happy.”
During the first week of the season, the WNBA reported a staggering 236 percent increase year over year in merchandise sales, with jerseys for Clark, Reese, and Cameron Brink all ranking in the top five. In the initial two months of the season, four Fever home games set single-game sales records at the arena’s team store. Overall items sold surged by 694 percent year over year, with net sales rising more than 1,000 percent. Jersey sales alone increased by an impressive 1,193 percent heading into the All-Star break.
The demand for Caitlin Clark collectibles has also skyrocketed. Her signature Wilson basketball sold out within 40 minutes earlier this month, prompting a quick restock for the latest release. A unique autographed Clark WNBA Draft card — the first to showcase her in a Fever jersey — fetched an astounding $84,000 at auction.
Anticipation for Clark’s arrival in Indianapolis had been building for months. Prior to her Fever debut, the city proudly displayed a massive 150-foot banner featuring her image on a prominent building near Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Clark’s likeness now captivates the cityscape.
As a result of all this excitement, the Fever are back in the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Legends of the franchise are already acknowledging and appreciating her impact. “Playing basketball in Indiana is different, whether it be in Indianapolis or one of the smaller cities; basketball is bred differently,” said Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller in an email. “Watching the excitement the Fever have brought to the city and state has been fun to witness.”
If the Fever can secure a road victory over the Sun on Wednesday, it would guarantee a series-clinching Game 3 in Indianapolis. Catchings predicts an electrifying crowd will gather to witness Clark attempt to lead the Fever to their first semifinals appearance since 2015. “It’s as if Fever basketball and women’s basketball have been rejuvenated,” Catchings noted. “Especially here in Indy.”
(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; Visual data: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos: Luke Hales / Getty Images, G Fiume / Getty Images, Brian Spurlock / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
