Attendance soars during WNBL27's Opening Week

The WNBL has made a strong start to the season, with game attendance up 40 per cent and social media engagement hitting record highs.

A historic, sell-out opening fixture between the Tasmania Jewels and Geelong Venom at MyState Bank Arena set the tone on Thursday night and was followed by the Sydney Flames, who drew their biggest crowd at Quaycentre and their largest for a season opener in club history.

The results point to unprecedented excitement around the WNBL, with fans showing up en masse to see the best basketball talent on offer and be part of an electric atmosphere right around Australia.

WNBL Chief Operations Officer Justin Nelson said the League couldn’t have hoped for a stronger start.

“We’ve seen a fantastic response from fans to start the season, and to have attendance up 40 per cent is a huge credit to the fans and clubs,” Nelson said.

“The historic season opener in Tasmania was a special way to tip off the season, and what we saw in Sydney was another great example of the connection our clubs have made with their respective communities.

“What matters most is getting people through the doors, giving them a great experience and making sure they want to come back for more.

“We’re seeing that enthusiasm early this season, and we will keep building on it.”

Nelson said the League was also seeing encouraging signs of support from a broader range of communities.

“Excitingly, we saw a huge rise in new fans, especially coming out to support the four Chinese national players and the high number of Opals playing this season,” Nelson said.

“We want the WNBL to be a place where everyone feels welcome, whether they’ve followed basketball for years or are coming along to their first game.

“Seeing that interest grow across different communities is encouraging.”

Across social media, we have seen our weekly average views soar 254 per cent, up from 1.6 million to 5.9 million compared with the opening round last season.

Round 2 of WNBL27 tips off this Thursday, October 22, as the Southside Melbourne Flyers host the Tasmania Jewels at the Vic State Basketball Centre from 7pm AEDT.

Don’t miss a moment of the action with all games broadcast live on 9Now and ESPN via Disney+.