When the Connecticut Sun take the court against the Indiana Fever in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs on Sunday, it will be in front of a sold-out crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena for the ninth time this season.
The Sun also had their first sellout of 2024 in their season opener against the Fever on May 14, which they won, 92-71. The arena seating was reconfigured during the offseason to reduce capacity by approximately 500 seats, but the team is still averaging its highest attendance ever with 8,450 per game — nearly 2,000 more fans than it averaged in 2023. Connecticut’s 2024 average attendance is less than 500 fans short of sellout capacity at 8,910.
The 2024 WNBA season has been headlined by historic growth across the league, beginning with the Fever and rookie sensation Caitlin Clark. Indiana set a league record for attendance with 20,711 fans at their final regular-season game against the Washington Mystics at D.C.’s Capital One Arena. League attendance soared to its highest since the 1990s with teams collectively averaging 9,800 tickets sold per game, an increase of 44% from last season.
The WNBA has also seen historic television ratings across teams and networks. Games on ION saw a 133% increase in viewership from the 2023 season, averaging 670,000 viewers with seven games exceeding a million. Games on ESPN also saw a 170% increase, averaging 1.2 million viewers during the regular season. The network has exclusive rights to broadcast the WNBA playoffs and will likely shatter TV records for the postseason as well.
Clark has had a remarkable first season, setting a slew of WNBA records including single-season assists, points in a rookie season, and assists in a game with 19 against the Dallas Wings on July 17. She enters the postseason averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.9 rebounds, also shooting nearly 35% from 3-point range.
Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese was equally impressive, breaking league records for single-season rebounds, consecutive double-doubles and double-doubles by a rookie among others. Reese’s season ended prematurely after she broke her wrist with six games remaining, but she finished her first year averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds plus 1.3 steals.
Interest in the league is already carrying momentum all the way to next season. As Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson continues one of the most dominant seasons in professional basketball history, the Aces have already sold out of season tickets for 2025. The WNBA will add its first expansion team since 2008 next season, the Golden State Valkyries, in the Bay Area, and the franchise has received more than 17,000 season ticket deposits before signing a single player to its roster. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert also announced two more expansion teams, in Toronto and Portland, which will officially join the league in 2026.
