Caitlin Clark's WNBA preseason home debut could draw 17,000

Caitlin Clark spent Wednesday practicing inside an empty Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

On Thursday night, Indianapolis’ new game-changing rock star will be welcomed by a raucous, near sellout crowd of 17,000 that believe the WNBA’s No. 1 overall pick can instantly change the Indiana Fever’s fortunes.

A little more than a month after leading Iowa to its second straight NCAA championship game, Clark will make her Fever home debut in a preseason game against the Atlanta Dream.

“People definitely know who I am,” Clark said Wednesday. “Sometimes it’s hard to go out and do what I want to do, but at the same time, I wouldn’t want it any other way. That’s the best way to grow women’s basketball. That’s the best way to get these fans excited about what we’re going to do here, so I think people they are just as excited as we are to play here. So I think more than anything, enjoy it, soak it in.”

Clark’s mere presence already has made a difference. In the preseason opener Friday night at Dallas, she scored a team-high 21 points in a 79-76 loss in front of another near sellout. The Fever will have 36 of their 40 games televised nationally and her regular-season debut May 14 at Connecticut will be the first live sporting event streamed on Disney+.

the Fever will open up the third deck of their home arena rather than having seating in only the two lower decks. The change means Indiana could draw more than 17,000 fans to a preseason game that was moved up a day because of the NBA playoffs. The Indiana Pacers will host the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal Friday night.

Fever officials wouldn’t say Wednesday how many tickets were still available — only that there was a limited amount. And yet they could still have a sellout for the most anticipated home debut for an Indiana athlete since Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck.

For Clark, playing in front of full arena has become the norm. For her teammates and coaches, this could be the start of something bigger than they could have imagined.

“I think it’s the same thing in the state of Indiana, people that support the Fever, that support the Pacers, they’re invested. So they’re going to cheer, they’re going to get after the refs.”



(AP Photo / Darron Cummings)