WNBA attendance and the Clark/Resse effect

Timothy Zimmer (), Allison Snyder () and Ian Zimmer ()
Additional contact information
Timothy Zimmer: University of Indianapolis
Allison Snyder: University of Indianapolis
Ian Zimmer: University of Indianapolis

Economics Bulletin, 2025, vol. 45, issue 2, 780 - 791

Abstract: A surge of interest in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) during the 2024 season has prompted media debate about the origins of the increased attention. This study employs a least squares approach on panel data to evaluate potential influences on game attendance while controlling for mitigating factors. The goal is to determine whether recent attendance growth is organic and the result of long-term efforts by players and league management or due to external factors such as the introduction of a popular rookie class, particularly Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Empirical results indicate that the surge is the result of a combination of these factors, with each contributing positively to varying degrees.

Keywords: WNBA; Basketball; Attendance; Caitlin Clark; Angel Reese; Indian Fever; Chicago Sky (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L8 M1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-06-30
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2025/Volume45/EB-25-V45-I2-P68.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-24-00327

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Economics Bulletin from AccessEcon
Bibliographic data for series maintained by John P. Conley ().