The Chicago sky is expected to make history on Saturday when they face Indiana fever at the United Center – the first professional women’s basketball game played in the 31 -year -old arena.
But one of the marquee clashes of this WNBA season took a hit when the fever announced on May 26 that Caitlin Clark would be absent at least two weeks due to a persistent left quadriceps strain.
The injury will keep the Indiana superstar away for the match on Saturday – and the momentum behind tickets has changed accordingly.
Initial ticket sales are not a concern. Less than 500 original tickets to the United Center of 20,923, remained available via Ticketmaster from Wednesday. The majority was at the 100 level, where prices started at $ 393.
But Clarkâs injury dropped the resale market, prices lowering an average of 70% in the first 48 hours after the announcement of its injury, according to Tickpick. Tickets higher than the price of $ 125 are now available for less than $ 20 on Seatgeek.
It is a harshly learned truth for resellers: trying to make a profit on a sporting event is a major bet. A similar problem posed in 2023 and 2024 when the football star Lionel Messi did not even make the trip with his Inter Miami teammates to play Chicago fire to Soldier Field.
Clark continued to travel with the fever of the road matches during his lack of injury. She took photos with fans and signed jerseys before and after a match of May 28 against the mystics of Washington in Baltimore. But coach Stephanie White was categorical, the fever does not rush Clark, even though they are fighting against injuries throughout their rear zone.
Clark was a major attendance engine since it joined the WNBA last season. The fever established a championship record in 2024 for total attendance at home and outside, attracting 643,343 fans to 40 games – an average of more than 16,000. Four teams moved the matches against fever last year in larger arenas to accommodate larger crowds.
The Sky played the two home games from last season against a fever at a Wintrust arena of 10,387 capacities, and the average resale billet price for the final of August 30 between the teams increased to $ 386, according to Logitix.
The Sky announced in February that they would play their two home games in 2025 against fever at the United Center. The second meeting is July 27.
Although the fever produced the most breathtaking figures last year, it was part of a trend on the level of the league triggered by the popularity of the 2024 draft class – including the star of the Sky Angel Reese – while the general attendance increased by 48% of 2023. The mystics moved a match of the season against the Sky and Baltimore Reeese from 4 000 Bricks at 4,000.
While the resellers will assume the burden of the price fall for the match on Saturday, the sky will face another major question: can they still establish a record for attendance in a single match of the WNBA?
The mystics set the record in September with 20,711 assistants to a match against fever in Capital One Arena. The greatest capacity of the United Center gives the sky a chance to break this record without a full sale.
Saturday’s match is on the right track to break the frequentation record for the 16,444 franchise – established in 2016 in Allstate Arena – but the absence of Clark could dilute the attendance just enough to miss the League record.
There is an optimistic perspective, however, that it is a question when, not so.
The first sales of tickets for the return of the fever to the United Center in July reflect the pre-blue projections for the match on Saturday, the majority of the three levels already sold. If Clark returns to her current calendar, she would be available to help stimulate the final attendance of the Revenge match.
In the meantime, the sky will make the story of its own on Saturday – and will seek to go beyond the fever of the ranking after consecutive victories on the wings of Dallas last week.
