Angel Reese is in the WNBA Finals, and Caitlin Clark isn’t, but does that directly relate to the Reese effect? For three years, Clark owned the narrative of a league transformed, and even when Reese said fans were watching games for her too, Clarkonomics barely blinked. Now Reese owns the Finals stage, and former ESPN host Linda Cohn has reminded everyone that it isn’t just about the power forward.
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Yesterday, TickPick reported that the get-in price for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals scheduled at State Farm Arena was set at $201. The set price made it the most expensive Finals game ever. NBA Central quickly termed it the Angel-effect, putting Reese’s impact face-to-face with Caitlin Clark’s. However, the narrative was quickly met with objection from Cohn.
“People are already trying to compare the Angel Reese effect with a Caitlin Clark effect. And my question is: based on what exactly? A few ticket listings?” Cohn said on her show.
Cohn was reacting to the reports from GameTime, where the get-in prices for Game 3 & 4 tickets were set at $208 and $227, respectively. She shut down the conversation, saying that the ticket sales had not even gone public, and it was just the price that was set by random ticket sellers.
“[These ticket prices are from] secondary market resale sites, places where sellers can list tickets at whatever price they think somebody might pay,” Cohn added. “There’s a big difference between what somebody is asking for a ticket and what somebody is actually willing to pay.”
Just a few days ago, the Dream didn’t have a fixed arena to host the WNBA Finals. Now they are set to host Game 3 at State Farm Arena, which has a capacity of 17,000. During the playoffs, the Dream didn’t open the upper bowl entirely. But for the Finals, all 17,000 tickets are set to go on sale.
According to USA Today’s Meghan Hall, Atlanta fans were lining up for tickets. She reported that around 42,000 were standing in queue during the Dream’s presale. Despite the increased demand, Cohn was not ready to give the entire credit to Angel Reese and her effect.
“Angel Reese absolutely has her own following and her own impact on the sport,” she added. “But if we’re going to make comparisons about who’s driving ticket sales, let’s compare actual ticket sales; let’s compare attendance…consistent demand over an entire season, not just a couple of Finals games.”
During the regular season, the Indiana Fever had recorded the third-highest attendance in home games. However, the Dream were 14th among 15 teams. A big reason for the Dream’s lower number is also because their home arena, Gateway Center, has only 3,500 seats.
“Let’s recognize that the WNBA Finals are a major event in their own right,” she pointed out. “If Atlanta sells 17,000 tickets, that’s terrific. But it doesn’t mean every one of those people bought a ticket solely because of Angel Reese. They’ve all bought tickets to see the Dream as a team competes for a championship.”
Cohn is not entirely wrong. The excitement for the fans to watch their team win a championship is certainly a driving force. Atlanta fans have never seen their team win a championship. They were swept in 2010, 2011, and 2013, but this time, the Dream seem like a legitimate contender, or perhaps the favorites to win the title. They have all the pieces to do it all.
According to Front Office Sports, the Dream released their presale tickets at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday. However, the get-in price was massively trimmed. By afternoon, the get-in price for Game 3 had dropped to just $96, and $114 for Game 4.
On the other hand, the get-in price for Game 1 of the Finals at Chase Center was $214 on Thursday afternoon. Even if these prices hold their own, this could be the most expensive Finals ever. This is bigger than Angel Reese. It is a win for the WNBA.