Fever Reaping Benefits of WNBA Success

Consistent playoff appearances and last season's WNBA championship have led to a boost in business for the Indiana Fever. The team says attendance, season ticket packages and merchandise sales have all increased this year compared to last season. President Kelly Krauskopf says she is encouraged by Scarborough Research data showing more than half of the Fever fan base is male, saying men tend to be “the gatekeepers” of sports consumption.

Indianapolis, Ind. — Nine months after claiming the franchise’s first WNBA championship on the court, the business side of the Indiana Fever franchise enjoys continued growth and ranks among league leaders in economic categories including merchandise sales, ticket sales and social media following.

The Fever has qualified for the WNBA playoffs in eight consecutive seasons, the second-longest streak in league history. With seven straight years of 20 or more wins, fan and corporate support has continued growing. Corporate partnerships and ticket revenues have seen substantial increases and fan traffic on FeverBasketball.com is up over 30 percent in the past year.

“For the past 3-4 years, all of our business metrics have been trending in a positive direction,” said President and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf. “We have seen steady growth that has been bolstered by our on-court success as well as smart, diligent work by our marketing staff.”

“We will be celebrating our 15th year next season and the strength of our growing brand in the marketplace is supported by the increasing number of fans who are attending games and watching on television or live streaming.”

Some measurable indicators of the Fever’s recent business growth:

• Fans are watching more games than ever before, especially on-line. On average 7,093 fans tune in to watch the Fever play on WNBA Live access. Fans can watch Fever and other WNBA games via an online subscription accessible on FeverBasketball.com.

• Fans are actively visiting FeverBasketball.com for team information. This season, page views are up 33 percent and unique visits are up 37 percent. Fever star Tamika Catchings was recently the second-highest vote-getter in the Eastern Conference during online balloting by fans for the 2013 Boost Mobile All-Star Game. She has annually been among the league’s top voting recipients.

• More fans are actively engaging with the Fever on social media. Over 21,000 Facebook fans are connected to the team and 12,285 follow the Fever on Twitter! Fever players have a strong connection to fans as shown by Catchings’ 29,750 followers on Twitter.

• More fans are attending games this season. Issued attendance year-to-date has grown eight percent to average 7,778 Fever fans per game. Sixth in the WNBA in average attendance for four straight seasons, the Fever is currently fifth in 2013.

• The number of new season tickets has grown by 25 percent and new season ticket revenue has increased by 61 percent.

• Males are a growing segment of fans as men now comprise 52 percent of the Fever fan base, according to Scarborough research.

• More fans are wearing official Fever fan gear. Merchandise sales are up 40 percent this season and rank 5th in the WNBA.

• Corporate sponsorship has grown in-arena and on the player jerseys. Bolstered by the club’s recent partnership with athletic retailer Finish Line, sales are up 64 percent.

A WNBA playoff participant in eight straight seasons and nine times since 2002, the Indiana Fever became the champion of women’s professional basketball after defeating the Minnesota Lynx for the 2012 WNBA Championship. The Fever is the only team in WNBA history to record seven 20-win seasons during an 8-year span, a current streak that dates to 2005. During that time, the Fever has reached at least the Eastern Conference Finals five times while appearing in the WNBA Finals in 2009 and 2012. Indiana hosts the East-leading Chicago Sky on Saturday, August 3 (7:00 p.m.). For 2013 season ticket information, visit FeverBasketball.com or call (317) 917-2528.

Source: Indiana Fever