Indianapolis is no stranger to hosting major sporting events, regularly hosting Final Fours and the annual NFL Draft Combine. This past February, it was also the site of the NBA All-Star Game. Next summer, however, will be the first time the city will host the WNBA All-Star Game.
The competition will take place on July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, while the 3-point contest and skills challenge will take place on July 18.
“We are thrilled to bring AT&T WNBA All-Star to Indiana for the first time,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “The city of Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana have such an incredible and enduring passion for the game of basketball, making the region the perfect host to celebrate the WNBA and the game’s biggest stars.”
It’s official.
AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025 coming to Indianapolis 💫
📝 photo.twitter.com/I0Z5nCiKr6
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 15, 2024
The news comes amid a significant surge in interest in the Indiana Fever. Led by 2024 No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark and 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston, Indiana leads the WNBA in attendance for both home and away games this year, with the franchise saying Wednesday it has seen a 265 percent increase compared to last season.
In the second half of the WNBA season, which begins Thursday, the Fever have seen a resurgence in other areas as well. Indiana announced that it has set a single-game record for sales at its Gainbridge Fieldhouse Team Store four times this season, and the team store has seen a more than 1,000 percent jump in net sales. The Fever have added 1.3 million followers across its social media platforms since mid-April, and the team said that team-produced videos had more than 800 million views from April 15 through July 19, placing them behind only Miami FC (Lionel Messi’s club) among major U.S. sports franchises during that period.
Ten Fever broadcasts this season have also set network viewership records, with the team’s June 23 game against Chicago Sky becoming the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years, averaging 2.3 million viewers. Even requests for Indiana’s mascot, Freddy Fever, to appear have increased 150 percent.
“This is a historic moment, a turning point for women’s basketball, and there’s nothing more fitting than Indiana being the centerpiece of it all,” Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said in a statement. “Over several seasons, we’ve built a young, talented roster that fans love to support, and this is a momentum we’ll look to build on for years to come.”
Clark and the Fever got off to a slower start than many expected, losing nine of 11 games in 20 days. Since then, Indiana has bounced back, with Clark, Boston, two-time All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell and 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith developing more chemistry. In the second half of the season, Clark leads the league in assists and leads rookies in points per game. She also ranks third in 3-pointers made and seventh in total points while playing the second-most minutes of anyone in the WNBA.
The Fever, who are in seventh place at 11-15, return to the field on Friday against the Phoenix Mercury. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Required reading
(Photo: Justin Casterline/NBAE via Getty Images)
