Can WNBA get even more eyes on Caitlin Clark? Yep, host a game at Lucas Oil or Wrigley Field

New York Times

18-07-2025

One of the buzzwords often heard in sports media today is 'eventize.' But the word is far from new. For instance, a 2004 New York Times Magazine piece on the explosion of DVDs as a marketing play reveals that 'eventize' is a word the writer has been hearing a lot around Los Angeles. From the piece: 'As in, 'We really need to eventize the hell out of this release. For the 'Star Wars' debut on DVD, that meant parties, paparazzi, robots and a red-carpet treatment that mimicked in miniature the fanfare accompanying a big-screen theatrical opening. A boffo event, in short.'
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The word pops up frequently these days when discussing Netflix's sports ambitions or a broadcaster's desire to make something feel big. The sports content marketplace is crowded and one way to separate yourself is making a broadcast feel like an event. That will be case this weekend in Indianapolis as the WNBA descends on the city for All-Star Weekend, even without Caitlin Clark participating in the event because of injury. The league made a smart move by anointing Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark team captains and having them select teams. That mini-event delivered a ton of earned media, which is always a bigger win than a paid marketing campaign.
The most successful sports leagues steal ideas from other leagues — or simply use their might to swipe them — and here is where the WNBA should swipe from the NFL, NHL, MLB, college football and other leagues.
The WNBA needs to 'eventize' more regular-season games, and a priority for the 2026 season should be using the popularity of Caitlin Clark by scheduling the Fever to play a game at either Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Colts in Indianapolis, or a unique outdoor venue in the Midwest, such as Wrigley Field. (Clark is a lifelong Cubs fan.)
A beautiful night for baseball at Wrigley Field! pic.twitter.com/p3vD9avOcT
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 23, 2022
The proof of concept already exists in a number of forms for women's sports:
The Crossover at Kinnick (Stadium) was a preseason exhibition in 2023 between Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes and DePaul at the home stadium of Iowa football. The game set the global women's basketball single-game attendance record of 55,646.
Two months earlier, Nebraska women's volleyball drew 92,003 fans to Memorial Stadium— home of the Cornhuskers' football team — to set the U.S. attendance record at a women's sporting event.
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When I interviewed former Iowa women's basketbal coach Lisa Bluder last March, she used the word 'magical' to describe being part of the The Crossover.
'We had 55,646 people show up, and there were women crying in the stands because this had been done for women's athletics,' Bluder said. 'Some of these women never got to play sports. They didn't have the opportunity. They were so excited and so emotional to see this happen for women.'
These were creative ideas from people at those colleges, and they became unforgettable events.
Are there issues that come with playing basketball outside? Of course. The weather needs to come through. But history suggests the positives outweigh the negatives if you can get scale, even if the game itself isn't great. Such an event will guarantee a new WNBA attendance record. The current one was set last September, when 20,711 watched the Fever and Mystics at Capital One Arena.
If the Fever want to keep the game close to home, Lucas Oil Stadium has proven multiple times it can set up a basketball venue. The facility hosted the 2025 Midwest Regionals for the men's NCAA Tournament and will host the 2026 men's Final Four. (The Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board operates several facilities, including Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the Indiana Convention Center).
In an email, CIB Executive Director Andy Mallon said that Lucas Oil Stadium can host approximately 72,000 for basketball depending upon the setup. 'We have more than 350 days when we are not hosting Indianapolis Colts home football games, so we offer ample opportunities to host non-NFL events,' Mallon said.
To be clear, individual franchises are going to have to drive this idea. Per a league source, WNBA franchises can bring such venue ideas to the league for review, and approval is based on a number of factors including venue requirements. The WNBA can advocate for such an idea but ultimately two teams would have to be on board with everything that comes with such an event (travel, logistics, tickets, etc.) to get it done.
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Clark has proven to be a catalyst for teams changing arenas. We saw this again last week when the Dallas Wings announced they will move the Aug. 1 game against the Fever to American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. The game that was initially scheduled for College Park Center.
The Across The Timeline website tracks WNBA data, and the Fever far and away outpace the rest of the league when it comes to away attendance. Any Fever opponent would obviously need incentivizing to play in an NFL or MLB stadium, but it would be massive publicity for both teams. Every one of the WNBA's media rights-holder partners would want the game, and it would easily have a shot at being the most-watched regular-season game of the year.
ENCORE 🤩 The Dallas Wings will officially host the Indiana Fever for another A Night in Dallas at American Airlines Center on August 1 presented by @albertapp!
🎟️ Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, July 11! pic.twitter.com/59CN1gJTjI
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) July 7, 2025
'I like the idea,' said ESPN WNBA analyst Rebecca Lobo. 'The W actually did something similar in 2008 when the Liberty played the Fever at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It would be pretty spectacular to see a massive venue full of W fans watching the Fever play. I think they could get a crowd close to what the game at Kinnick drew. Chicago or Dallas would be attractive opponents since Angel (Reese) and Paige (Bueckers) are big draws as well, especially against Caitlin. It would be a rare WNBA tailgating opportunity as well.'
Lobo is correct, and as she notes, the history of 'eventized' WNBA games already includes the Fever: The Liberty and Fever played a regular-season outdoor game on July 19, 2008, at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the first non-tennis sporting event to take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Game-time temperature was a steamy 87 degrees.) The game drew 19,393 to the then-23,226-seat stadium. Two years later, Los Angeles hosted Seattle at the 8,000-seat Home Depot Center's tennis stadium in Carson, Calif. (That game had some air quality issues given a fire at an auto scrap yard about six miles south of the Home Depot Center.)
If you ask people within the sports business industry, most would jump on board with the idea because they understand eventizing is the currency of the moment.
'There is a whole concept in sports of creating bigger events and more spectacles,' said John Kosner, the former ESPN executive vice president for digital media, who now advises sports media and tech start-ups. 'Why is the NFL so big? Because it's weekly spectacle. What makes NASCAR unique? It's a spectacle.' Ed Desser, a former NBA media executive and the president of the consulting firm Desser Sports Media, said he would advise the WNBA to go beyond Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium to take advantage of the Clark brand.
'I don't know that a regular-season game at Lucas Oil Stadium reaches the level needed to make it a spectacle,' Desser said. 'There are going to be lots of chances for those Indiana fans to to watch the Fever during the course of the season in Indianapolis, so is playing at the football stadium enough in order to be a bona fide spectacle, to make it really special? I think of the outdoor game the NHL did in Lake Tahoe. You just had this pristine, gorgeous backdrop. Now that made it a special occasion.'
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Clark and Aliyah Boston running a pick-and-roll at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort would be lovely but unlikely to happen. Lucas Oil Stadium, though, is very doable.
When asked last Wednesday by The Indianapolis-based 'The Fan Morning Show' if the Fever would ever play a game at Lucas Oil Stadium — my colleague at The Athletic, James Boyd, who co-hosts the sports radio show and made the ask for this piece — Joey Graziano, the executive vice president of strategy and new business ventures at Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said: 'I'm really excited about bringing the Fever around the world. We've seen interest from Asia. We've seen interest from Australia. Teams wanting to make sure that the Fever have an opportunity to play in their market. Obviously, this year we played in Iowa. I think what we've seen from our team is that they're excited to be able to use the platform to get into new places. So, I wouldn't put anything past us.'
Asked specifically about the prospect of hosting a WNBA game at Lucas Oil Stadium, the CIB's Mallon understandably was diplomatic.
'Gainbridge Fieldhouse is a premiere professional basketball venue — I would argue that it's the best in the country — and the Indiana Fever and their fans love being there,' Mallon said. 'While Lucas Oil Stadium has a terrific basketball resume with success hosting past Final Fours and 2024's NBA All-Star Saturday night, and we've been tapped to host the 2026 and 2029 men's Final Fours, we tip our hat to Gainbridge Fieldhouse when it comes to hosting Indiana's game.'
History is a valuable tour guide, and Bluder said it herself: The Iowa Crossover was a magical day and one of the highlights of her five decades coaching career. Opportunity is knocking here for the WNBA and its franchises. Let's hope they grab it in 2026.
(Photo of Caitlin Clark: Matthew Holst / Getty Images)