The WNBA’s average attendance of 8,309 per game in the season’s opening weeks is down about 9 percent from the same point last year, but league officials said they aren’t concerned and instead point to early television ratings and Web site traffic as sources for continued optimism for 2004.
“It’s early in the season, so I wouldn’t express it as a concern,” said WNBA spokeswoman Sharon Robustelli. “But I would say we do need to continue to see how it plays out.”
| WNBA attendance* |
| Team | Change |
| Charlotte Sting | -5.2% |
| Connecticut Sun | -3.8% |
| Detroit Shock | 0.1% |
| Houston Comets | -8.2% |
| Indiana Fever | -46.9% |
| Los Angeles Sparks | 1.7% |
| Minnesota Lynx | -12.3% |
| New York Liberty | -21.4% |
| Phoenix Mercury | -11.6% |
| Sacramento Monarchs | -2.4% |
| San Antonio Silver Stars | -17.4% |
| Seattle Storm | 17.8% |
| Washington Mystics | -15.5% |
| LEAGUE | -9.1% |
|
| * Through games of June 14 |
| Source: Timothy Brandt, for Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal |
Robustelli said that historically the league, which plays many of its games midweek, has seen crowds pick up as the season progresses and schools let out. Of the 55 games played through June 14 this year, 23 (41.8 percent) were played on a school night or earlier on a weekday. Last year, 21 of 48 games played through June 14 (43.8 percent) were played on a school day or night.
Still, of the league’s 13 teams, all but three — Seattle, Los Angeles and Detroit — have experienced drops in average home attendance. That includes the Phoenix Mercury, which had high hopes that landing No. 1 draft pick and UConn standout Diana Taurasi would have an impact on ticket sales. Through June 14, the Mercury’s count had dropped 11.6 percent.
Taurasi also has had little impact when it comes to selling tickets for Mercury road games. With the exception of the Connecticut Sun selling out its home game against the Mercury, a natural sellout considering Taurasi’s following in the state, Taurasi’s effect has been minimal, at best.
Mercury COO Jay Parry said she’s not concerned about the team’s attendance and echoed league comments, saying “it is early.”
“The Mercury is coming off its worst record, and fans need to become acquainted with the new, young, energetic team, and that takes time,” Parry said.
A record-breaking performance for the team’s Web site helps fuel Parry’s optimism. The Mercury’s team site had 927,890 page views in May, which set a league record for team page views, according to Phoenix officials. The previous record was 690,894, set for the Houston Comets’ site in May 2003.
League site wnba.com also has posted large numbers, scoring a record-setting opening weekend with more than 2.5 million page views and 300,000 total visits, according to the league.
Records also are being set with television ratings, where the league earned a 1.0 for its first televised game of the season — featuring Taurasi and Phoenix at Connecticut. The rating was the league’s highest-ever rating for a regular-season or postseason game. Combined, the season’s first three telecasts on ABC represent a 29 percent increase from the first three ABC broadcasts a year ago.
