Menu
Research and Ratings

WNBA Teams See Record-Low Attendance During '12 Regular Season

WNBA teams averaged 7,457 fans per game this season, marking the league's lowest average since it began play in '97. The previous low was 7,479 per game set in '06. The '12 average is also down 6% from last season's figure. Half the teams in the WNBA saw a double-digit percentage drop in average attendance this season. The Mystics saw the sharpest drop, down 17.3% at Verizon Center in DC. The Lynx saw a 14.6% jump at the gate on the heels of the team's '11 championship. Listed below is an attendance trend for the WNBA since its inception, as well as team-by-team attendance for the '12 season compared to last season (THE DAILY).

WNBA AVERAGE ATTENDANCE TREND
YEAR
AVERAGE
YEAR
AVERAGE
'12
7,457
'04
8,593
'11
7,955
'03
8,826
'10
7,834
'02
9,344
'09
8,039
'01
9,075
'08
7,952
'00
9,072
'07
7,742
'99
10,189
'06
7,479
'98
10,864
'05
8,173
'97
9,662
       
WNBA REGULAR-SEASON ATTENDANCE
HOME TEAM
GMS
TOTAL
AVG.
% CAP.
PREV.
% +/-
GMS ('11)
Sparks
17
172,990
10,176
77.4%
10,320
-1.4%
17
Lynx
17
164,617
9,683
105.5%
8,447
14.6%
17
Mystics
17
146,861
8,639
85.1%
10,449
-17.3%
17
Silver Stars
17
133,454
7,850
79.8%
8,751
-10.3%
17
Mercury
17
132,839
7,814
76.6%
9,167
-14.8%
17
Fever
17
128,897
7,582
82.3%
8,054
-5.9%
17
Storm
17
127,266
7,486
77.3%
8,659
-13.5%
17
Sun
17
123,519
7,266
76.3%
7,056
3.0%
17
Liberty
17
114,950
6,762
36.6%
7,702
-12.2%
17
Sky
17
94,746
5,573
79.6%
5,536
0.7%
17
Dream
17
92,708
5,453
53.7%
6,487
-15.9%
17
Shock
17
88,453
5,203
69.6%
4,828
7.8%
17
WNBA TOTALS
204
1,521,300
7,457
72.1%
7,955
-6.3%
204
               

NOTES: All attendance data is based on totals posted immediately following games. Figures do not reflect any subsequent adjustments made by teams or the league. The '12 season began May 18 and the '11 season began on June 3. There were no games this season between July 4 and Aug. 15 due to the London Games.

 

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2012/09/26/Research-and-Ratings/WNBA-gate.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2012/09/26/Research-and-Ratings/WNBA-gate.aspx

CLOSE