How Barclays Centre saw the largest attendance in WNBA history for Liberty.
From the beginning, the rivalry between the Liberty and Aces for WNBA dominance has attracted large crowds.
Therefore, it makes sense that the Aces were the opposition when the Liberty welcomed the biggest WNBA audience ever at Barclays Centre on Sunday for Game 3 of the Finals (17,143).
“When we played the Las Vegas Aces at home, we saw huge spikes.” Liberty CEO Keia Clarke told The Post, “We saw huge spikes versus other opponents as well, but this one in particular was basketball that we knew people wanted to see.” “And then, out of nowhere, we find ourselves in this scenario where the Liberty, a founding [WNBA] team, is participating in its first Finals in twenty-one years.
Thus, it was rather normal. People’s natural desire to be within the structure and take in its living experience was evident.
The capacity of the Brooklyn arena’s upper decks, which Clarke stated the Liberty opened “several times” during the regular season, was included in the record-breaking figure.
“After the 87-73 victory in Game 3, we knew the fans were going to come out and support us like no other, and that’s momentum for us,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart remarked.
The audience was incredible. Amazing were the fans, said Jonquel Jones.
As the Liberty defeats the Aces in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, Sabrina Ionescu gets the fans going.
The Getty Images
Since Joseph Tsai took over as the team’s owner in 2020 and the Liberty moved from White Plains to Brooklyn, the demand for tickets has increased, and Clarke says that the trend is still “in the right direction.”
Now in her thirteenth season with the company, Clarke has led Liberty as its CEO since 2020.
She stated that she anticipates the atmosphere of Wednesday night’s pivotal Game 4 to be comparable to that of Sunday.
“The possibility to even the series in Game 4 adds even more drama, and sales are comparable,” Clarke stated. “People enjoy sports because of this. Fans are fans for this reason.
A portion of the 17,143 spectators that broke attendance records during Game 3 of the 2023 WNBA Finals at Barclays Centre.
Getty Images / NBAE
“And I’m sure that this New York Liberty team would have an incredible storyline, especially since they’ve never faced a scenario unique to professional basketball in a championship series and have the chance to win and go to the championship game.”
The fact that more people are watching women’s sports is one reason the Liberty players are happy to see the audience.
“We’ve been telling them for a long time that they should support us, so it’s amazing to see that people are still coming,” Stewart remarked.
“I believe that the best course of action is to keep demonstrating to young children the potential and possibility of what is achievable, normalising it for many others, including Ruby, the daughter of Stewart. Making it so that each time she enters a WNBA arena, she anticipates this. We’re going to keep working to ensure that the expectations for the following generation are higher.
For the league, Clarke sees the record-breaking attendance as a “sign of the times” and a sign of “growth.”
“Because I’ve spent so much time with this franchise, I can’t be more proud and happy that it’s happening for the New York Liberty and that it’s happening in the WNBA,” she said.
The pivotal Game 5 would take place in Las Vegas on Friday night if the Liberty tie the series on Wednesday night.
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