There have been few athletes who have had a more profound impact on women’s sports than Caitlin Clark.
We’ve seen it in the record-setting TV ratings for the Elite Eight match-up that found Clark and the University of Iowa defeating Kim Mulkey’s LSU squad last week (as well as the record-setting schadenfreude ratings from by LGBTQ sports fans at the game’s conclusion).
Now the NCAA and sports business media are able to measure the Clark phenomenon monetarily. According to a report from CNN’s Jordan Valinsky, with both Women’s and Men’s Final Fours taking place this weekend, the average ticket price on the secondary market for the Women’s games is now slightly higher than the Men’s.
When Valinsky filed his story on Thursday, StubHub showed an average ticket price of $726 for the Women’s Final Four, compared to $710 for the Men.
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Not only that but Clark’s presence has caused the baseline Women’s Final Four ticket price to skyrocket by orders of magnitude compared to even one year ago.
As CBS Sports posted on its Instagram feed, the cheapest ticket for the 2023 Women’s Final Four went for $90 via the website Tickpick.
One year later, the least expensive ticket was selling for $692.
On a related note, the WNBA’s Indiana holds the number one pick in this year’s WNBA Draft. So if you live in Indianapolis and you hear seemingly random shouts of joy in the air this week, there’s a 90 percent chance they’re coming from the Indiana box office.
Following Iowa’s Elite Eight triumph, numerous LGBTQ sports luminaries celebrated Clark’s transcendent skills and looked forward to seeing her aim for her next achievement.
As the Women’s Final Four ticket prices demonstrate, the rest of the country can’t wait to do the same when Iowa plays Connecticut tonight.
