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COLUMN: Dissecting Adam Silver’s WNBA comments

By Alex Simon

WASHINGTON - JULY 14: (L-R) NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver talks with Alana Beard #20 of the Washington Mystics during the WNBA Nike Court Refurbishment press conference on July 14, 2007 at the Boys and Girls Club Clubhouse 14 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - JULY 14: (L-R) NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver talks with Alana Beard #20 of the Washington Mystics during the WNBA Nike Court Refurbishment press conference on July 14, 2007 at the Boys and Girls Club Clubhouse 14 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA – APRIL 14: Alexandria Quigley (30) of Fenerbahce in action against Brittney Griner (L) of UMMC Ekaterinburg during the FIBA Women’s EuroLeague semi final’s first leg match between Fenerbahce and UMMC Ekaterinburg at DIVS Sport Hall in Yekaterinburg, Russia on April 14, 2017. (Photo by Konstantin Melnitskiy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA – APRIL 14: Alexandria Quigley (30) of Fenerbahce in action against Brittney Griner (L) of UMMC Ekaterinburg during the FIBA Women’s EuroLeague semi final’s first leg match between Fenerbahce and UMMC Ekaterinburg at DIVS Sport Hall in Yekaterinburg, Russia on April 14, 2017. (Photo by Konstantin Melnitskiy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /

Some perils of leaving the summer

But that’s not to say that everything for the NWSL teams is going super smoothly. In fact, as FourFourTwo’s Katelyn Best broke down ahead of Utah’s second match, looking at the top of the NWSL could skew perceptions.

There’s nothing like soccer in Portland, Oregon, and the Thorns have proven that carries over to the women’s game, as they averaged 17,678 fans per game in 2017, almost tripling the next-highest average of any other NWSL team in 2017.

And while some teams have had greatly-attended games, like the Orlando Pride’s 23,403 fans for their inaugural match in 2016 and Utah’s 19,203 this year, those numbers haven’t sustained. Orlando’s average in 2017 was 6,186 in 2017 and is at 5,988 through three matches in 2018. And in Utah’s three matches since the opener this season, the attendance has gradually dipped (8,446, then 7,551, and then 7,137 on Wednesday night).

Portland’s success even led to the Chicago Red Stars trying out a doubleheader with the MLS team Chicago Fire (even though they aren’t owned by the same group), with the men’s game being played in the afternoon followed by the women’s game. And while the paid attendance was 13,678, it’s clear in watching the highlights that the women’s game was sparsely attended.

I bring this up because doubleheaders would certainly be a key component of any WNBA schedule if they were to switch seasons to line up with the “natural basketball schedule,” especially for teams that have a direct affiliation with an NBA team, like in Indiana, Minnesota or Washington D.C.

But what really is interesting is that, all things considered, the WNBA attendance averages have been rather stable for a while now, and actually are improving in some markets. League-wide, there was 7,716 fans per game, the highest average since 2011’s 7,954 fans per game. Yes, it’s less than the peak of 10,869 fans per game in 1999, and the league hasn’t topped 8,000 per game since 2009 and 9,000 per game since 2002. But there’s signs that show it’s trending well.

The LA Sparks averaged 11,350 fans per game, their second-best season ever (only slightly below 2002’s 11,651). League champion Minnesota cracked the 10,000-mark for the first time since their inaugural season with 10,407 fans per game. Connecticut, Seattle and Washington all averaged more than 500 fans per game more than the previous season.

And, frankly, the one thing that the league has been able to consistently rely on in the past few seasons for attendance: midweek afternoon games for summer camps. It’s obviously a give-and-take situation, as I’m sure there are working-class season ticket holders that simply can’t attend these games when they happen. But the league has still seen these matinees draw in some of the largest crowds of each season.

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