THE Caitlin Clark effect is hitting the WNBA before she has been drafted.

Ticket sales are skyrocketing in anticipation of Caitlin Clark being drafted on Monday.

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Caitlin Clark is expected to be drafted with the first WNBA Draft pick on MondayCredit: Getty

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The Indiana Fever are seeing a huge boost in ticket sales from Caitlin Clark anticipationCredit: Getty
Clark set the sports world on fire this season, breaking the NCAA basketball scoring record and leading Iowa to a national championship appearance.

She is the expected No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, and the Indiana Fever are seeing the benefits of it already.

The Fever had an unimpressive 13-27 record in 2023 and won the lottery to pick No. 1 overall.

With that pick they have the luxury of selecting Clark and all of the benefits that come with it, including ticket sales.

Last year the Fever boasted the second-worst average attendance in the league with 4,067 fans.

However, the team has already confirmed a “spike” in ticket sales ahead of the draft.

They responded to the influx of interest in their games by pre-selling tickets over a 15-game stretch heading into Monday.

The presale has been indicative of the Caitlin Clark hype, as by Thursday night almost the entire 18,000-seat Gainbridge Fieldhouse was sold out of games against the Seattle Storm and Dallas Wings.

Ticket marketplace Vivid Seats also reported a 91 percent increase in ticket prices for the Fever’s season opener since Clark declared for the draft.

On SeatGeek, the average resale price for Fever home tickets is over $180, a 136 percent increase since last year.

“This is definitely the most significant example I can think of on the women’s side,”Chris Leyden, director of growth marketing at SeatGeek told ESPN.

“Three things drive demand for tickets. It’s one, how popular the team is overall.

“Two, it’s how good the team is. Winning teams always drive up demand.

“Three, to me, is the star player factor. And this just absolutely checks the box.”

Other teams are also adjusting their plans to account for the Caitlin Clark effect in the upcoming season.

The Las Vegas Aces moved their July 2 game against the Fever from the Michelob Ultra Arena to the bigger T-Mobile Arena due to high demand.

“The demand for the July 2 game against Indiana was particularly high, and the decision was made to move that game to T-Mobile Arena,” spokesman John Maxwell said.

The Storm are also offering a five-game package, with two of those games being against the Fever.

The Caitlin Clark effect is already giving the WNBA a massive boost, and it will only grow once she is actually in the league.

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Multiple fever games are already nearly sold out