'We’ve never, ever seen anything like this’: How Caitlin Clark’s stardom can help Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — Rebecca Lobo has been around the WNBA a long time — really, since the league started in 1996.

Lobo started at UConn in 1991. She was the only college player on the 1996 Olympic Team, and was part of the WNBA’s first draft in 1997. She played in the WNBA for six years, and has been a commentator on ESPN and other platforms.

And through her multiple-decade career in women’s basketball, she’s never seen anything like the draw that Iowa superstar (and likely Indiana Fever No. 1 draft pick) Caitlin Clark has been.

“We haven't seen a player drive ticket sales like this," Lobo said. "We haven't seen a player drive ratings like this. I mean, look at the ratings. The last four or five games she played, I mean, and it's something that she'd been doing all season long.

"I’ve never seen anything to this degree.”

Clark hasn’t even been officially drafted to the Indiana Fever yet, but people are buying tickets in droves. There was a spike in season-ticket requests following Clark’s announcement she was entering the draft Feb. 29, and the team introduced a new approach to single-game ticket sales last week because of the demand. According to Stubhub, resale tickets for the Indiana Fever are up 13 times compared to the same time last year.

Fever tickets: Indiana Fever introduce unusual approach to single-game ticket sales ahead of WNBA Draft

“We had a lot of excitement last year when we had the No. 1 pick and selected Aliyah Boston, and of course there's a tremendous amount of excitement now with having back-to-back picks,” Indiana GM Lin Dunn said. “And I think you've seen a great deal of interest in ticket sales around this pick, and I think we're all excited about adding another top pick to this young team. So, is there a lot going on? Is there a lot of noise? Is there a lot of excitement? Absolutely.”

Clark is also expected to bring some economic prosperity to the Central Indiana region. She generated $82.5 million of economic revenue in her home state throughout her four-year career, according to a study from the Common Sense Institute in Iowa, and a study from Ball State University projects her to do the same in Indianapolis

More: Caitlin Clark expected to bring exposure, millions of dollars to Indiana, according to BSU study

BSU projects Clark to bring in 26,000 fans over the course of the Fever’s season, including 10,000 from out of the region that will also spend money on restaurants and hotels.

And by playing for the Fever, Clark will stay in the Midwest — a region she’s spent her entire life. Indianapolis is about seven hours from her hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa, and five hours from Iowa City.

Hawkeye fans have proven that they will travel to see Clark — they sold out the Target Center in Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament, as well as arenas in Albany, New York, and Cleveland for the NCAA Tournament.

More: 'Hey, get tickets for when the Fever come to play.’ Iowa fans will follow Caitlin Clark.

Suffice it to say, Iowa fans (and fans of Caitlin Clark) travel well.

“One of the things that’s kind of special about it is that she's staying in the Midwest, going to Indiana,” Lobo said. “It's such a perfect fit in terms of that. Would she have done great no matter where she goes? Of course, but the fit in Indiana … it just seems kind of perfect. The hero of the heartland is going to be staying there and leading this team. In terms of attention, we've never ever, ever seen anything like this.”

Clark’s fit is not only perfect location-wise, but also for the Fever’s current structure. The missing piece of the puzzle in Indiana’s starting lineup is a point guard that has strong court vision, can dish out assists through traffic while also scoring herself.

More: How Caitlin Clark fits into Indiana Fever's lineup. 'She’s a generational player.'

Clark checks all of those boxes, and she will likely join the Fever’s core of Aliyah Boston, NaLyssa Smith, and Kelsey Mitchell to play in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in May.

“I'm really excited to see Caitlin surrounded by the players that are already on the Indiana team,” Lobo said. “Her vision is next-level, and I'm eager to see players around her who can consistently see what she sees and finish what she delivers to them.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Caitlin Clark’s stardom could help Indiana in more ways than one