Indianapolis to host 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

Indianapolis is not new to hosting major sporting events, routinely hosting Final Fours and annually hosting the NFL Draft Combine. This past February, it was also the site of the NBA All-Star Game. Next summer, however, will mark the first time the city is hosting the WNBA All-Star Game.

The game will take place July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with the 3-point contest and skills challenge occurring July 18.

“We are excited 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 greatest stars.”

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 had a 265 percent increase compared to last season.

Heading into the second half of the WNBA season, which begins Thursday, the Fever have also seen a boom in other areas. Indiana announced that single-game records for sales at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse Team Store have been set four times this season, and the team store has experienced a jump of more than 1,000 percent in net sales. The Fever have added 1.3 million followers across its social media platforms since mid-April, and according to the team, videos produced by the team from April 15 to July 19 had more than 800 million views, trailing only Miami FC (the club of Lionel Messi) across 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 matchup against the Chicago Sky becoming the most-viewed WNBA game in 23 years, averaging 2.3 million viewers. Even appearance requests for Indiana’s mascot, Freddy Fever, are up 150 percent.

“This is a historic moment, an inflection point for women’s basketball, and there’s nothing more fitting than Indiana being at the center of it all,” Mel Raines, chief executive officer of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said in a statement. “Over several seasons, we have built a young, talented roster that fans are excited to support, and this is momentum that we will build off for years to come.”

Clark and the Fever got off to a slower start than many expected, losing nine out of 11 games in 20 days. Since then, Indiana has rallied, with Clark, Boston, two-time All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell and 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith developing more chemistry. Entering the second half of the season, Clark leads the league in assists while pacing rookies in points per game. She also ranks third in 3-pointers and seventh in total points, all while playing the second-most minutes of anyone across the WNBA.

The Fever, who sit in seventh place at 11-15, return to the court Friday against the Phoenix Mercury. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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(Photo: Justin Casterline / NBAE via Getty Images)