By signing free-agent stars, New York Liberty assemble a WNBA superteam. Will they finally fill lower bowl of Barclays Center? Ticket prices... vary.
For the WNBA's New York Liberty, who play at the Barclays Center May through September and have under-achieved in both the standings and attendance, the tide may have turned, thanks to free agent signings that may be the WNBA equivalent of the "Clean Sweep" that brought Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and (uh, their aging friend) DeAndre Jordan to the Brooklyn Nets.
(Of course the news came just before Irving's reported trade request upended the Nets. By next Thursday we'll know if that truly was non-negotiable or whether it was a bargaining tactic of sorts.)
The signings show the players' desire to be in the New York market, plus, as noted by NetsDaily, the willingness of (billionaire) team owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai to absorb $500,000 in fines for flying the long-limbed Liberty players via charter plane, which is against league rules--rules that should be removed when the league gets less parsimonious.
Filling seats
As I wrote last October, the Liberty, which play 18 regular-season home games, averaged 1,757 in 2021, near the bottom of the league, and 5,327 in 2022, a significant improvement but still below the midpoint of the league.
“I think we should at least fill the lower bowl with a view of getting — I feel like we should get 6,000 to 8,000," Joe Tsai told NetsDaily 10/30/21.
On the morning of 2/2/23, basketball writer Tom Ziller wrote, "Meet the NEW New York Liberty: Breanna Stewart picks the Liberty, joining a good team that ALSO added Jonquel Jones. Incredible."
Stewart is one of the league's top two players, and Jones one of the top seven, at least. Later that day, the Liberty signed All-Star Courtney Vandersloot. So the Liberty now have a starting five of All-Stars.
Stewart is one of the league's top two players, and Jones one of the top seven, at least. Later that day, the Liberty signed All-Star Courtney Vandersloot. So the Liberty now have a starting five of All-Stars.
The New York Liberty are STACKED 😳
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 2, 2023
🗽 Courtney Vandersloot
🗽 Sabrina Ionescu
🗽 Betnijah Laney
🗽 Breanna Stewart
🗽 Jonquel Jones pic.twitter.com/vziR9H1Hq4
That doesn't make the team a lock, but to Ziller, the Liberty has a better long-term future, given that the league champions Las Vegas Aces, the other superteam, have so far upgraded only with Candace Parker, a great player who happens to be 36 years-old.
The signings show the players' desire to be in the New York market, plus, as noted by NetsDaily, the willingness of (billionaire) team owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai to absorb $500,000 in fines for flying the long-limbed Liberty players via charter plane, which is against league rules--rules that should be removed when the league gets less parsimonious.
Filling seats
As I wrote last October, the Liberty, which play 18 regular-season home games, averaged 1,757 in 2021, near the bottom of the league, and 5,327 in 2022, a significant improvement but still below the midpoint of the league.
“I think we should at least fill the lower bowl with a view of getting — I feel like we should get 6,000 to 8,000," Joe Tsai told NetsDaily 10/30/21.
"I hope we can get to that level and we can build on that, and hopefully have like 12,000 at some point. Maybe not next season, but in the future."
Vs. Minnesota Lynx: single tickets $25+
About the tickets
Single-game prices--via Ticketmaster, not SeatGeek, despite the logo on the schmatic above right--start at $25, plus $8.85 for handling, as shown below, while season ticket pricing is above right. Note that the schematic of the arena in the image above right does not quite explain that they're not selling the upper bowl, but that's confirmed in the screenshots below.
Given that they're not selling season tickets for the sections directly behind each basket, it looks like they could be saving those seats for single-game and group sales.
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