WNBA Season-Ticket Holders Grapple With Soaring Prices
WNBA teams are hiking prices as the league explodes.
As the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) continues to expand, some dedicated fans are worried they may be priced out of the league. Front Office Sports conducted interviews with season ticket holders across various markets, revealing sticker shock after receiving renewal offers. One Washington Mystics season ticket holder, who has been a fan since 2021, plans to decline renewing their floor seats at CareFirst Arena due to a staggering 48% increase in ticket cost from $6,907.50 to $10,200.
This price hike is nearly 250% higher than last year's price of $4,207.50. The Phoenix Mercury have also experienced significant price increases, with courtside seats jumping from $9,100 to $14,600.
The Mystics and Mercury received renewal offers in mid-July, highlighting the expanded regular-season schedule starting next year, which will consist of 25 home games, a 13.6% increase from the current 22. Additionally, each team will play more games per season, contributing to the overall price increase. However, the price hikes cannot solely be attributed to the expanded schedule.
Both the Mystics and Mercury are raising ticket prices per game by 22 to 50%, and a sales representative for the Mystics cited the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) as the reason for the price increases. This CBA argument was echoed by another Mercury season ticket holder who believed that a billionaire sitting in a seat in front of them should not have to bear the cost of paying for higher salaries.
Terri Carmichael Jackson, the executive director of the players' union, expressed concern over the suggestion that ticket price increases were necessary to cover salaries. She emphasized that ticket pricing is a business decision made by individual teams and their ownership groups, and the WNBPA and its members are neither consulted nor involved in those decisions. The WNBA has long been more affordable than its counterparts in U.S. professional sports, but this situation may be changing as the league's popularity grows.
Written by urgent.news from Front Office Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
