Total WNBA Regular-Season Attendance Dips Slightly In ’05

The WNBA, whose playoffs begin tonight, drew 1,806,362 in total attendance for the ’05 regular season, down from 1,899,106 in ’04, according to Mike Terry of the L.A. TIMES. WNBA attendance figures represent a combination of tickets sold and complimentary tickets used. WNBA attendance peaked at 2,391,972 in ’02. In ’03, when the league went from 16 to 14 teams but increased the number of games from 32 to 34, the total fell to 2,100,630. The league eliminated one more team prior to the ’04 season, reaching its current alignment of 13. Terry noted the Sparks’ average attendance this season fell to 8,838 per game from 10,428 last year. Sparks President Johnny Buss said, “Our attendance has leveled off. It would be one thing if it leveled off with the same interest. But it is diminished interest, and that concerns me.” Buss added, “I see a lot less interest in the WNBA. There’s the upside that people believe the league is here to stay and will catch a game at some point, but not so like they did when they first supported the league. Before they supported it in greater numbers for its existence.” WNBA President Donna Orender said after the playoffs, “we will sit down and strategically map out what we want to do regarding attendance. We want filled arenas. How we map out that process will take a little time.” The following lists the league-wide total and average attendance for each of the WNBA’s nine seasons: ( L.A. TIMES, 8/29 ).

BUCKING THE TREND: The Storm drew a total of 150,760 fans this season, the first time in the club’s history that total attendance exceeded 150,000. The average of 8,868 fans per game was up a league-best 11% from ’04 and marked the first time the average topped 8,000 since the team’s inaugural season in ’00 ( Storm ).