WNBA Attendance - Regular Season

[psconn]

WNBA League Average - Regular Season: 6769 (down from 7716 in 2017).

Regular season averages:
LA 10,642
MIN 10,036
PHO 9950
SEA 8109
CT 6569
CHI 6358
IND 6311
WAS 6137
LV 5307
DAL 4750
ATL 4194
NY 2823

Season highs for Seattle (12,574 vs DAL) and Connecticut (8040 vs LA). Only Seattle and Dallas improved from 2017.

 

[CTrefugee]

I would like to see revenue from admission receipts.
I recall that in CT, many (most) folks got in free.
Unless it was an exciting game, half the crowd went back to the slot machine at halftime.

 

[shizam]

Are these attendance figures PAID attendance? Reason I’m curious is I read an article from The Oregonian saying of the 9,200 avg Liberty attendance last year only 5,500 was actually paid. Huh?

Atlanta is a weird sports town. A good team doesn’t even impact numbers. Wonder if they will even draw over 5,000 for a playoff game?

You have 12 teams. Eliminate Liberty for obvious reasons and 9 of 11 teams dropped in attendance?

 

[psconn]

1-I would like to see revenue from admission receipts.
2-I recall that in CT, many (most) folks got in free.
3-Unless it was an exciting game, half the crowd went back to the slot machine at halftime.

1)You can request receipts, I guess. I believe the Sun was the first profitable franchise, and it continues to be so.
2)Most get in free? That would equate to 4,000+ free tickets last night. Seriously doubt it. I'd guess there are many, many hundreds of comped, vouchered and donated tickets, though. All part of the overall business plan (which is working) that supports the overall business operation and helps to grow the Sun fanbase.
3)I have been going to games since 2003 and have been a season ticket holder for nearly 10 years (including the dark ages of Anne Donovan), not once have I seen anything close to what you describe. Like every sport, everywhere, some people make a beeline for the exits in near the end of blowout games, and at the Sun, it was worse in the aforementioned dark ages but not close to the half-time exodus you portray.

 

[psconn]

Are these attendance figures PAID attendance? Reason I’m curious is I read an article from The Oregonian saying of the 9,200 avg Liberty attendance last year only 5,500 was actually paid. Huh?

Atlanta is a weird sports town. A good team doesn’t even impact numbers. Wonder if they will even draw over 5,000 for a playoff game?

You have 12 teams. Eliminate Liberty for obvious reasons and 9 of 11 teams dropped in attendance?

Those are the official numbers from the box score. I don't know how they are counted but I suspect either tickets scanned at the door (most accurate), or tickets out. It could even vary by team. I can tell you that at the Sun we've become pretty good at crowd estimates by looking around the arena so there is at least correlation to the official number.

 

[Roger G]

The teams are oozing with talent. The games have been mostly exciting. Any of the eight teams in the playoffs could win this year. Las Vegas and Chicago were also exciting teams at times this year. But attendance is down. Clearly the leadership of the league is clueless.

 

[Carnac]

Since the South Carolina Gamecocks enjoy a "packed" Colonial Life Arena (15,000 seats for basketball) in Columbia, SC most nights, and lead the country in yearly attendance for WCBB, I wonder how a WNBA team would fare there? The Gamecocks are right in the middle of a "hotbed" for WCBB. New York needs to relocate if no one else does. Since SC does not have a profession sports team, I'd bet they'd welcome a WNBA franchise with open arms.

 

[psconn]

Since the South Carolina Gamecocks enjoy a "packed" Colonial Life Arena (15,000 seats for basketball) most nights, and lead the country in yearly attendance for WCBB, I wonder how a WNBA team would fare there? The Gamecocks are right in the middle of a "hotbed" for WCBB. New York needs to relocate if no one else does.

Triad knows the history of the Charlotte Sting and could better speak to this. I would love to see a successful franchise in that part of the country but would hate to see New York fold. As much as I hate all things NY in the sports world, a successful New York franchise is important to the health of the league, I think. I have often wondered if the Knoxville area could support a team, but I have never heard of any interest. The amount of talent coming out of college is increasing and some really good players will be forced out of the league as this trend continues. If they can make some money, a couple more franchises would be great. Easier said than done.

 

[Carnac]

Triad knows the history of the Charlotte Sting and could better speak to this. I would love to see a successful franchise in that part of the country but would hate to see New York fold. As much as I hate all things NY in the sports world, a successful New York franchise is important to the health of the league, I think. I have often wondered if the Knoxville area could support a team, but I have never heard of any interest. The amount of talent coming out of college is increasing and some really good players will be forced out of the league as this trend continues. If they can make some money, a couple more franchises would be great. Easier said than done.

I forgot about the Sting that were located in Charlotte NORTH Carolina, and folded after 10 years (1997-2007). I wonder if a buyer would be willing to try the Columbia SOUTH Carolina market? We already know that Charlotte won't support a team. Tennessee would be another possible market for a team wanting to relocate and possibly horn in on the Lady Vols already loyal fan base.

 

[psconn]

The teams are oozing with talent. The games have been mostly exciting. Any of the eight teams in the playoffs could win this year. Las Vegas and Chicago were also exciting teams at times this years. But attendance is down. Clearly the leadership of the league is clueless.

I am no marketing expert so I won't comment on the competence of the W's leadership, but after a game like last night I am amazed that the WNBA isn't more popular. High skill, great drama and energized fans... what's not to like? But the reality is the casual sports fan around the country, if they even know the league exists, consider it, at best, an inferior form of men's basketball, not worthy of attention by anyone outside the player's friends and family. I think what has a chance to change that perception is continued and increased social media attention to the women's pro game by NBA stars like LeBron, Kobe, Durant, Garnett and others. All of those guys have been vocal about their respect and admiration for the talent and accomplishments of players in the W. They have big followings on social media and may make an impact.

We UConn and WBB fans do live in a bit of a bubble. We are passionate about the sport, and talk to each other about it enthusiastically, but outside the bubble, we find ourselves in a very small niche of a very large sports world. I literally could not GIVE AWAY six good tickets to the Minny and LA games just played, and I contacted about 60 people... discouraging.

 

[shizam]

So those games that have an extra 3,000 elementary sch kids in free are counted in attendance I’m assuming. So these avg figures WNBA uses are even worse for actual paid attendance. Seems like the demand to buy or start a WNBA team is not very good which speaks volumes for potential profitability. No one is breaking down fences for a franchise. NY availability a good example.

 

[psconn]

See above... I don't know how they are counted.

 

[vtcwbuff]

We were just offered 2 comp tickets to a Sun playoff game. We probably spend no more than $50 a year at the casino, outside of restaurants and UConn games. In any case we decided to pass. I wonder how many Sun playoff tickets will be freebies?

 

[MilfordHusky]

In the first few years of the league, the Mystics routinely had attendance of 15,000 or so. I knew someone who worked for them, so I went for free a few times and heard that over 5,000 free tickets were available for most games.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Since the South Carolina Gamecocks enjoy a "packed" Colonial Life Arena (15,000 seats for basketball) in Columbia, SC most nights, and lead the country in yearly attendance for WCBB, I wonder how a WNBA team would fare there? The Gamecocks are right in the middle of a "hotbed" for WCBB. New York needs to relocate if no one else does. Since SC does not have a profession sports team, I'd bet they'd welcome a WNBA franchise with open arms.

18,000, actually. Some of us have been trying to convince WNBA teams to have a couple of games here, which I think would be well attended. I think a franchise would draw well; metro Columbia has almost 900,000 and within about a 1 1/2 hour drive there are another 5 million+. I know a team would draw better than Atlanta.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Triad knows the history of the Charlotte Sting and could better speak to this. I would love to see a successful franchise in that part of the country but would hate to see New York fold. As much as I hate all things NY in the sports world, a successful New York franchise is important to the health of the league, I think. I have often wondered if the Knoxville area could support a team, but I have never heard of any interest. The amount of talent coming out of college is increasing and some really good players will be forced out of the league as this trend continues. If they can make some money, a couple more franchises would be great. Easier said than done.

Yes, a successful NYC team is essential to every league. The key word, however, is successful.

 

[Striper69]

The only team I could see this year would've been the Lynx but the tickets are too expensive for good seats.

The league doesn't have good attendance but still charges skyscraper prices for seats?

Reality check needed here...

 

[Striper69]

In the first few years of the league, the Mystics routinely had attendance of 15,000 or so. I knew someone who worked for them, so I went for free a few times and heard that over 5,000 free tickets were available for most games.

"Stupid is as stupid does".

 

[CTrefugee]

1)You can request receipts, I guess. I believe the Sun was the first profitable franchise, and it continues to be so.
2)Most get in free? That would equate to 4,000+ free tickets last night. Seriously doubt it. I'd guess there are many, many hundreds of comped, vouchered and donated tickets, though. All part of the overall business plan (which is working) that supports the overall business operation and helps to grow the Sun fanbase.
3)I have been going to games since 2003 and have been a season ticket holder for nearly 10 years (including the dark ages of Anne Donovan), not once have I seen anything close to what you describe. Like every sport, everywhere, some people make a beeline for the exits in near the end of blowout games, and at the Sun, it was worse in the aforementioned dark ages but not close to the half-time exodus you portray.

No numbers ???

 

[CTrefugee]

What counts these days is TV money. If a team moves to a city with a larger fan base, they might get higher attendance, but until there is nationwide demand, the revenue (and salaries) will be puny. Guesstimate yourself using ROM numbers. 10,000 per game x ticket price x 17 games = small time operation w/o big bucks from TV.