The “Caitlin Clark effect” will be on full display in D.C. this week, as two WNBA rookie stars are coming to town to face the Washington Mystics.
On Thursday, Baltimore-native Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky are scheduled to play the Mystics, and Clark and the Indiana Fever will be in town for a Friday night game. Both contests will be played at Capital One Arena to accommodate the increased demand.
There are some remaining tickets for both games, though many are being sold on resale sites.
Tickets for Friday’s Mystics-Fever game nearly sold out as soon as they went on sale, according to Alycen McAuley, chief business officer for the Mystics.
“We’re just really excited about the enthusiasm that we’re seeing for the WNBA and for the Mystics,” McAuley said. “Demand for our season is at an all-time high.”
There are just a handful of single tickets remaining for Friday’s game, though others are available through resale. As of Wednesday afternoon, 400-level tickets are being sold for over $60 before fees on Ticketmaster, and about $55 before fees on StubHub and SeatGeek.
More tickets are available for Thursday night’s Mystics-Sky game, but McAuley is expecting the 100 and 200-level sections to be full with a crowd of nearly 10,000 fans.
Resale tickets are over $70 before fees on Ticketmaster, and over $60 on SeatGeek and StubHub.
“Over the last five years, there’s just been tremendous growth within women’s basketball and the WNBA specifically,” McAuley said. “I think just the enhanced opportunity to have the game on television, more games broadcast, both for the WNBA and at the collegiate level, have brought more fans to the game.”
Younger audiences, McAuley said, are also very interested in women’s sports.
Both games will be played at Capital One Arena through a partnership with D.C. that allows Monumental to flex certain high-demand games to the bigger venue. The group is still finalizing its new agreement with the city; so as for whether additional games could be moved to Capital One Arena long-term, McAuley said “that’s one of the areas that’s in flux.”
The Mystics, McAuley said, sold out their first three games this season at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southeast D.C.