My new column for TribLive.com is about Brittney Griner’s first game back in the WNBA after being jailed in Russia for 10 months. It filled just 54 percent of the seats at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. Here’s an excerpt:
The average attendance for WNBA games in 2022 was just 5,679. American Hockey League games this past season averaged 5,651.
Minor-league hockey with teams in podunk towns like Bakersfield, Grand Rapids, Hershey, Utica and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton drew almost identically to the world’s top league for women’s basketball, which has franchises in major markets and big-time arenas. A national TV contract, too.
The WNBA barely outdraws minor-league hockey. That's quite an indictment. It’s also no surprise.
To read the entire column, click HERE.