Indianapolis is no stranger to hosting major sporting events. It regularly hosts the Final Fours and hosts the NFL Draft Combine every year. It also hosted the NBA All-Star Game last February, but next summer the city will host the WNBA All-Star Game for the first time.
The game will be held on July 19th at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with the 3-point contest and skills contest on July 18th.
“We are excited to bring AT&T WNBA All-Star to Indiana for the first time,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “The city of Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana have such an incredible and enduring passion for the sport of basketball that the region is the perfect host to celebrate the WNBA and the sport’s biggest stars.”
it’s official.
AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025 is coming to Indianapolis 💫
📝 https://t.co/PKuMPP9P4j pic.twitter.com/I0Z5nCiKr6
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) 15 August 2024
The news comes amid a significant increase in interest in the Indiana Fever. Led by 2024 pick Caitlin Clark and 2023 pick Aliyah Boston, Indiana leads the WNBA in home and away attendance this year. The franchise announced Wednesday that it has seen a 265 percent increase compared to last season.
As the second half of the WNBA season begins Thursday, the Fever have seen a boom in other areas as well. Indiana announced that the Gainbridge Fieldhouse team store has set single-game sales records four times this season and the team’s net sales have increased more than 1,000 percent. The Fever have added 1.3 million followers on their social media platforms since mid-April, and according to the team, videos produced by the team between April 15 and July 19 have been viewed more than 800 million times. During that period, the team trailed only Miami FC (Lionel Messi’s club) among all major U.S. sports franchises.
Ten Fever broadcasts this season have also set broadcast record numbers. The team’s June 23 game against the Chicago Sky became the most-watched WNBA game of the past 23 years, averaging 2.3 million viewers. Even requests for appearances for Indiana’s mascot Freddy Fever have increased by 150 percent.
“This is a historic moment, a turning point for women’s basketball, and there is nothing more fitting than for Indiana to be at the center of it,” said Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, in a statement. “Over several seasons, we have built a young, talented roster that fans love to support, and that is a momentum we will build on for years to come.”
Clark and the Fever got off to a slower start than many expected, losing nine of 11 games in 20 days. Since then, Indiana has rebounded, with Clark, Boston, two-time All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell and 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith developing more chemistry. Entering the second half of the season, Clark leads the league in assists and leads rookies in points per game. She also ranks third in 3-pointers made and seventh in total points, all while playing the second-most minutes of any WNBA player.
The Fever, who are in seventh place at 11-15, return to the court on Friday against the Phoenix Mercury, with play set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Required reading
(Photo: Justin Casterline / NBAE via Getty Images)
