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The Indiana Fever will end its streak as one of four teams that have never hosted the WNBA All-Star Game. Per ESPN, the league will announce later this week that the event will go to Indianapolis after a successful run in Phoenix this year. The Dallas Wings, LA Sparks and Atlanta Dreams are the other franchises that have yet to host the annual festivity.
Last season, the NBA came to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for its All-Star weekend. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in February that bringing the same women’s basketball event to the same city was a big possibility. She described the location and the Fever as “amazing.”
Having the Indiana Fever host the WNBA All-Star Game was almost a no-brainer for the league. Per a Sportsnaut report, 12 of the 18 most viewed games involved the Fever. Behind the star power of Caitlin Clark, Indiana has become an even bigger basketball attraction than ever before.
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Clark has been setting viewership records almost every time she is featured. The 2024 draft was the most viewed in league history and the Fever is the most watched team. It wasn’t surprising that this year’s All-Star game was “the most-watched ever.”
WNBA recognizes Fever’s mind-boggling growth by bringing All-Star weekend to Indianapolis
In a report by “Across the Timeline,” the Las Vegas Aces averaged 9,551.20 home ticket sales, the most in the league. The Indiana Fever had the second-lowest average of 4,066.80 fans watching the team play at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This year, that figure skyrocketed to 16,898 in the first half of the season, the best by a mile over the second-placed New York Liberty (12,755.23).
Away games don’t even matter for Caitlin Clark and Co. They are still the most-watched team, averaging 15,306 in road attendance. The Chicago Sky is second in the same category, averaging 10,560.08. Indiana’s staggering turnaround in popularity because of Clark made it an easy decision for the league to give the All-Star game to Indianapolis.
The home and away attendance record isn’t the only barometer of the Fever’s incredible popularity due to Clark. Chloe Peterson summarized Indiana’s spike in demand from fans and sponsors.
Jersey sales for the Fever are up 1,193% compared to last year. The team appeared in 38 nationally televised games, the most in the WNBA and set viewership records in 10 of them. From April to July, they had a jaw-dropping 800 million YouTube views, the best in “W,” NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB during that span.
Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell could lead the Fever to the playoffs. They’ll be even more sought after if that happens, making the league’s decision to bring the All-Star game to Indiana an easy choice.
