Despite a brutal loss for the Indiana Fever, Saturday was a memorable night for all parties in Minnesota. The Lynx retired WNBA legend Maya Moore’s jersey and packed the arena with over 19,000 fans.
Following the 90-80 loss, Fever star Kelsey Mitchell spoke on the atmosphere in Target Center. She believes rookie Caitlin Clark has made an impact on crowds, even in away stadiums.
Mitchell explained that Clark has been putting the Fever in the best position to play in front of packed arenas and tipped her hat to the rookie for being one of the biggest stars in the WNBA.
“All our girl c squared,” Mitchell said. “I think Caitlin specifically is a household name … I think she’s gonna continue to put us in a position to have all the fans in the world.”
Clark and the Fever have posted some incredible stats when it comes to attendance since many WNBA fans want to see what the hype is about with the No. 1 overall pick from the 2024 draft.
Just after the league’s break in the season for the Summer Olympics, it was reported that Indiana was one of the best teams in terms of road attendance in the first half of the season.
According to Sports Business Journal, the Fever drew an average of 15,306 fans in away stadiums, which was a boost of over 50% from games that did not feature Caitlin Clark and Indiana in the same arena.
“what was the crowd atmosphere like out there? it felt like there wasn’t really a home team.”
kelsey: “all our girl c squared … i think caitlin specifically is a household name … i think she’s gonna continue to put us in a position to have all the fans in the world.” pic.twitter.com/BVtrxCsymv
— cc akgae (@clrkszn) August 25, 2024
Three of the Fever’s games in the first half of the season also had to be moved to nearby NBA or NHL stadiums, given the desire for more tickets around the league.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) © Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK © Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK With their ability to play in front of Fever fans at home or on the road, Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark have put the Fever in a comfortable position to make the WNBA playoffs.
Indiana currently stands at the No. 7 seed in the league rankings. They hold a 13-16 record, having won six of their last 10 games.
