Caitlin Clark is so popular that WNBA officials in Atlanta had to move the Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream game to a bigger arena because the demand for tickets outpaced the seating capacity of the Dream’s home arena.
The Dream usually plays at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia. Still, at a mere 3,500-fan capacity, that seating arrangement was far too small for the number of fans clamoring for tickets.
So, officials had to move the game to Phillips Arena in Atlanta, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, which can accommodate around 19,050 fans.
In the end, Dream officials estimate that 17,577 fans attended Friday’s game, a record number for the Dream, beating their previous high of 11,069 fans, which was set during their very first game back in 2008, ESPN reported.
During Friday’s game, Clark scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting and had seven assists and four rebounds. And the Fever won 91-79. It was the Fever’s fourth consecutive victory.
Other news about Clark also broke Friday. She admitted that she left the Fever’s matchup with New York because she got hit so hard by an opponent that she suffered a burst eardrum.
Clark abruptly left the June 2 game against the New York Liberty, but neither she nor the Fever explained why. On Friday, Clark noted that the pain from a ruptured eardrum was just too much to keep playing. Plus, the ear problem prevented her from hearing well or keeping her balance properly.
The Fever star was asked about her “welcome to the WNBA moment,” and she replied by revealing the incident that left her with a burst eardrum. It likely happened when she ran square into the Liberty’s Jonquel Jones— who is 6-foot-6, 215 pounds.
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