INDIANAPOLIS – Caitlin Clark spent Wednesday practicing inside an empty Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
On Thursday night, Indianapolis’ revolutionary new rock star will be welcomed by a raucous, near-capacity crowd of 17,000 who believe the WNBA’s No. 1 overall pick can instantly change the fortunes of the Indiana Fever.
Just over a month after leading Iowa to its second straight NCAA championship game, Clark will make his Fever home debut in a preseason game against the Atlanta Dream.
“People definitely know who I am,” Clark said Wednesday. “Sometimes it’s hard to go out and do what I want, but at the same time, I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is the best way to grow women’s basketball. This is the best way to get these fans excited about what we’re going to do here, so I think people are as excited as we are to play here. So I think more than anything, enjoy, dive in.”
Clark’s mere presence made a difference. In Friday night’s preseason opener in Dallas, she scored a team-high 21 points in a 79-76 loss before another near sellout. The Fever will have 36 of its 40 games broadcast nationally, and its regular-season debut on May 14 in Connecticut will be the first live sporting event broadcast on Disney+.
Closer to home, the Fever will open up the third deck of their arena, rather than just having seats in the bottom two decks. The move means Indiana could draw more than 17,000 fans to a preseason game that was postponed a day because of the NBA playoffs. The Indiana Pacers will host the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday night.
Fever officials did not say Wednesday how many tickets were still available — only that there were a limited amount. And yet they could still be a sellout for the most anticipated home debut by an Indiana athlete since Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck.
For Clark, playing in a packed arena has become the norm. For his teammates and coaches, this could be the start of something bigger than they could have imagined.
“Women’s basketball has always been like this,” said Aliyah Boston, the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year. “I think it’s really great that fans are following their favorite players from college to the league, because that’s how we continue to grow.”
Especially when it comes to a generational player like Clark, who has fully embraced her new hometown.
“Honestly, I hope a lot of people are here, I hope it’s loud, I hope the fans actually participate,” Clark said. “Like I know these fans are going to show up and they know what’s going to happen on the court. I think sometimes you can show up at arenas and they just sit there. But like when I was in college, they’re invested, they know what’s going on.
“I think it’s the same thing in the state of Indiana, the people who support the Fever, who support the Pacers, are invested. So, they will cheer, they will go after the referees.”
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