"Mystics owner doesn't want Caitlin shine" - WNBA fans react as Fever's game against Mystics gets moved to smaller arena despite record-setting 2024

The Indiana Fever set new attendance records in the 2024 WNBA season, which was primarily attributed to their star, Caitlin Clark. Despite their historic attendance heights in the 2024 season, a Fever game has now been moved to a smaller stadium ahead of the 2025 regular season.

On their social media page, Indiana announced that their road games against the Washington Mystics on May 28 and Sept. 7 will be played at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore instead of its original location - the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.

The location change irked numerous WNBA fans on social media as they reacted to the Fever's post with their opinions about the sudden change.

“Could it be, the Mystics owner doesn't want the Caitlin "shine" to be seen again, hence the smaller arena vs. the capital one, which holds 18K+? Or is there a scheduling conflict? Hmmm..🤔........I think.....,” one fan wrote.

“Of course.. 🙄” wrote another fan.

“They moving for any other teams…?? Makes ya think🤔,” said another fan.

Meanwhile, other fans expected a more prominent venue when the location change was announced but were disappointed when the game was eventually moved to a smaller Baltimore arena.

“I’m extremely curious (nosy) about this venue change. Would expect Cap One. Maybe it’s a scheduling conflict,” said a fan.

“why not the Cap One Arena ?,” asked another fan.

“Why did they move it to the 14k arena and not the 20k arena the wizards play in?,” another fan said.

Last year, the Fever-Mystics game at the Capital One Arena, where the NBA's Washington Wizards play, on Sept. 19 set a new WNBA attendance record of 20,711. The two squads also first drew over 20,000 fans on June 7.

The Fever also led the league in total home and away attendance in the 2024 WNBA season, becoming the league's most-watched team.

The location change would limit attendance to around 14,000 since Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena can only accommodate this many fans.

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Fever star Caitlin Clark says women’s basketball boom is just the beginning

Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark has been the figurehead of the uprising of women’s basketball in the past year. She reflected on the sport’s recent rise in the Women's Sports Awards luncheon at T-Mobile Center last Feb. 4, where she promised that the boom was only the start of something bigger.

"The way women's sports and women's basketball has taken off is truly incredible. This is just the beginning. It's showing the world, not even just our country, how great it is and how fun it is to watch women's athletics,” Clark said.

Clark was named Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year in 2024 after a momentous year that included breaking the all-time NCAA scoring record, being drafted into the WNBA as the top pick and leading the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016.