Fever guard Caitlin Clark will be sidelined for at least the next four games due to a left quad strain, triggering a significant reduction in ticket prices for those events. The injury, announced recently, has notably affected the cost of attending both home and away matches, reflecting the strong influence of Clark’s presence on fan interest and ticket demand.

According to reports from Jordan Mendoza of USA TODAY, the average ticket price for the four games Clark will miss has fallen by 41%, dropping from $137 to $80. This decline is especially pronounced for two upcoming road games — the Fever’s contests against the Washington Mystics tonight and the Chicago Sky on June 7 — where ticket prices have plummeted following the announcement of Clark’s injury.

Significant Ticket Price Changes at Road Venues

For the game against the Mystics, which was relocated from the Washington-based CareFirst Arena to the considerably larger CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, ticket prices have sharply decreased. The move added more than 6,000 seats to the venue’s capacity. Before Clark’s injury was announced, TickPick showed the cheapest ticket for the Mystics game at $41. This price has now dropped to $14, with the average ticket price falling from $115 to $83.

The Sky game, scheduled at Chicago’s United Center for the first time in WNBA history, has also seen a dramatic reduction in ticket costs. On Sunday, the lowest ticket price was $86, but this has dropped to $25 following Clark’s injury news. While the average ticket price before the injury stood at $210, it is now $95. These data highlight how Clark’s injury has dampened enthusiasm among fans eager to attend these unique matchups.

Home Game Ticket Prices Also Reflect Clark’s Absence

The Fever’s two upcoming home games — on May 30 against the Connecticut Sun and June 3 versus the Mystics — have also seen ticket prices adjust in light of Clark’s injury. The cheapest tickets for these games, as listed on TickPick, are currently $13 and $11, respectively. This adjustment underscores Clark’s role as a key attraction for Fever fans attending home fixtures.

Baltimore’s Growing Role in Hosting Women’s Basketball

Baltimore will host its first Mystics game at CFG Bank Arena, part of a new partnership between the Washington Mystics and the downtown arena, which underwent a $250 million renovation in 2023. Sam Cohn of The Baltimore Sun noted the significance of this two-game series as part of expanding professional women’s basketball in the city, which has struggled to host major basketball events.

The arena’s increased capacity offers a larger stage for teams typically limited to the smaller fronts such as Washington’s CareFirst Arena, which holds about 4,200 fans. Terry Hasseltine, President of the Maryland Sports Commission and Visit Baltimore, emphasized the ongoing enthusiasm and demand for high-level women’s basketball in the region, stating,

“There is still energy and excitement to see big-time, high-profile women’s basketball in market.”

Bre Barksdale, CEO of Girls Getting Better Basketball, described the event as a potential

“catalyst for a future WNBA expansion franchise in Baltimore.”

Cohn further observed that the city’s investment in basketball signals a promising future for attracting competitive women’s basketball games to an area long starved of such opportunities.

Challenges Presented by Clark’s Absence for Baltimore and Fever Fans

Baltimore sports reporter Kyle Goon highlighted the difficulty Clark’s injury poses for a city that rarely hosts top-tier basketball. He called Clark’s absence a

“tough blow to a town that struggles to book high-level basketball games.”

The Mystics’ game marks Baltimore’s first WNBA matchup, and the city has not held an NBA preseason or NCAA tournament game in over a decade.

Since reopening, CFG Bank Arena has served as host for the CIAA Tournament and will welcome the University of Maryland men’s basketball team for its season opener against Coppin State this November, marking a revival in competitive basketball events in the city.

Clark’s Impact Extends to Attendance and Viewership Figures

During her rookie season, Caitlin Clark substantially boosted Fever attendance, with the team’s average home crowd at 17,036 — the highest in the WNBA and surpassing that of five NBA teams in the 2023-24 season. TV viewership also strongly favored games featuring Clark, underscoring her status as a major draw for fans and media.

Christine Brennan of USA TODAY noted that of the 23 WNBA games that reached at least one million viewers this season, 20 involved Clark. Fox Sports data reported that Clark’s games averaged 1.178 million viewers, more than triple the 394,000 average for other games.

Brennan explained the broad implications of Clark’s injury, saying,

“This is not just another player getting injured; this is the WNBA’s top financial driver who is now unavailable to play, promote and sell the league for a couple of weeks, at least.”

This underlines the potential challenges the league and Fever franchise will face without one of its brightest stars.