The WNBA has selected Indianapolis as the location of its 2025 All-Star Game, marking the first time the city has been chosen to host the event. The WNBA officially announced the news Thursday morning, confirming earlier reports.
The game, scheduled for July 19, will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and—thanks to No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark—comes amid a massive spike in interest both for the Indiana Fever franchise and the league as a whole.
The game will be part of an exhaustive weekend of events that is also expected to include community programs, entertainment and on-court activities such a skills competition and three-point contest, both of which will be held on July 18. The event will also mark the fourth year of WNBA Live, which the league describes as a two-day celebration of women’s basketball’s intersection with sports, fashion, music and culture.
“We are excited to bring AT&T WNBA All-Star to Indiana for the first time,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in written remarks. “The city of Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana have such an incredible and enduring passion for the game of basketball, making the region the perfect host to celebrate the WNBA and the game’s greatest stars.”
Indianapolis hosted the NBA All-Star game in February, following a 39-year gap since the city’s last turn at hosting that event. The festivities generated more than $400 million for the central Indiana economy over a five-day period, according to a study commissioned by the NBA. The projected economic impact of the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend was not immediately available.
The city’s turn hosting the WNBA All-Star event marks only the third time since the WNBA’s founding in 1999 that a city has been named as host of both midseason events in back-to-back years, joining New York City in 1998 and 1998, and Washington, D.C., in 2001 and 2002.
Prior to the announcement, Indianapolis had been one of four current WNBA cities to have never been chosen for All-Star hosting duties, alongside Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles.
San Francisco and Toronto, which are expected to field WNBA teams starting in 2025 and 2026, respectively, have also not yet been named as host cities.
The Indiana Fever franchise has been in the spotlight all season after drafting Clark No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft in April. Clark has sparked immense interest in the franchise and the league during the first half of the season, leading to numerous sellouts at home and on the road.
“We are in the middle of a pivotal, transformational moment in the history of the WNBA and women’s basketball, and we are thrilled Indiana will be the center of it all with the game’s biggest stars on display during next season’s All-Star Game,” Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the entity that owns the Indiana Pacers and Fever teams, said in a written statement.
“Leaders across our community are going to do what we do best: welcome fans from around the nation and the globe to Indiana, raise the bar for future host cities, and leave a lasting legacy for our city and state,” she said.
The selection of Indianapolis to host next year comes on the heels of the league’s All-Star game in July between the Team USA and a roster of WNBA players that included three Indiana Fever players in Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell. Clark was the game’s leading vote-getter, with 700,735 votes, followed by Boston with 618,680. Clark set a rookie record for assists in the game, with 10.
The contest became the most watched WNBA All-Star game in history, drawing 3.44 million viewers. The previous record was 1.44 million viewers in 2003.
The WNBA All-Star got a huge boost this year, thanks to Clark’s participation and the format pitting the All-Stars against Team USA. The game drew a sellout crowd of 16,407 to Footprint Center in Phoenix, making it the most-attended WNBA All-Star Game since 2007. The 2023 game in Las Vegas drew fewer than 10,000 spectators, as did the 2022 game in Chicago.
This year’s WNBA Live festivities tied to the weekend also had participation of a record 24 corporate partners—up from nine in 2022 and 13 in 2023. The event saw a 21% attendance increase from 2023, as well.
The location for WNBA Live has not been announced, although it is expected the Indiana Convention Center will be under consideration. The event is similar to the NBA’s Crossover event, which was held at the venue in February.
Clark’s impact
The Fever this week released an update on team milestones it has reached this season with Clark on the roster
- The Fever lead the WNBA in attendance this season, both for home and away games. More than 186,000 people have attended a Fever home game since May, averaging more than 15,500 per game. The figure marks a 265% increase in attendance from all of last season.
- At least 38 of the team’s 40 regular-season games this season have been or will be televised nationally, with 10 of those broadcasts so far setting WNBA viewership records.
- The team store at Gainbridge Fieldhouse has seen a drastic increase in sales for Fever merchandise. According to team officials, four home games this season have set single-game sales records and the store overall has had a jump of 1,000% in net sales.
- The Fever lead the league in corporate partnerships, with a 225% increase from last season.
- Clark has already set several milestones in her rookie season, with a league-record 19 assists in a single game and as the first WNBA rookie to notch a triple-double (double-digit statistics in three categories in on game). She leads the WNBA in assists and is on pace to set the league’s all-time assist record for a season. Clark also has broken the record for the most turnovers in a single season.
The Indiana Fever return to action for the second part of the 2024 season on Friday, hosting the Phoenix Mercury.
By Mickey Shuey, Indianapolis Business Journal
