The WNBA Minnesota Lynx on Friday will begin their "season-long residency" in St. Paul at Xcel Energy Center because of the renovation of Target Center, and they have "focused on marketing the team to St. Paul and the eastern suburbs, with some success," according to Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Lynx President Chris Wright said, "We knew we had an opportunity. We didn’t know the level of the opportunity." Knowing the move was coming, the Lynx marketing department "put together a plan to reach St. Paul and its suburbs, something the team has never really done." Wright said that only about 15-20% of the team’s season-ticket holders "come from the east metro." Now that area has "become a focus." The result is that as of early this week, the Lynx were "just shy of 700 new full-season ticket holders." Last year they had 3,600, and they renewed at about a 74% rate. That is "down slightly" from the normal 80-82% but "understandable considering the move." It is "frankly better than Wright expected." However, the new sales "will push the team’s season ticket base past last year’s number." Last season the Lynx averaged 9,266 fans a game. Wright "expects to top that in total attendance and at the gate." Wright: "We want to bring back our new fans from St. Paul and the eastern suburbs, back to Target Center. And the people who didn’t renew with us because of the move to St. Paul, there is an opportunity to bring them back. If we do that in 2018, we will substantially elevate our business" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/5).
