CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky’s second matchup of the 2025 season against rival Indiana Fever will make history on Saturday as the first WNBA game ever played at the United Center.
It’s a feat that could have happened much sooner had Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf taken NBA commissioner David Stern up on his offer to “own basketball year-round.” Reinsdorf’s disinterest meant it took almost another decade after the league was formed for the WNBA to arrive in the city.
Now, nearly 20 years after the Sky’s inaugural season, they are taking center stage at the largest arena in the NBA with a capacity of 21,000. However, they don’t have a shot at breaking the league’s regular-season attendance record set last year when the Fever played the Washington Mystics in front of 20,711 fans. (Two WNBA Finals games in Detroit drew more than 22,000 fans in 2003 and 2007, according to Across the Timeline.)
There is ongoing construction on the United Center’s upper suites, limiting the Sky’s ticket sales.
“We will clearly have the all-time largest Sky crowd,” Sky president Adam Fox told Front Office Sports. “But we can’t reach the full United Center capacity for this game.”
Update, June 8, 11:29 a.m.: The Fever beat the Sky 79–52 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,496, breaking the previous franchise record of 16,444. That’s the fifth-largest WNBA crowd of the last decade and No. 21 in league history, according to Across the Timeline. The Sky lost franchise all-time leading scorer Courtney Vandersloot to what appeared to be a serious knee injury. The teams meet at the United Center again on July 27.
The Sky typically play at Wintrust Arena which has a maximum capacity of 10,387. This season, similar to other WNBA franchises, the Sky moved several games to a larger arena as a result of the surge in ticket sales powered by Fever guard Caitlin Clark’s popularity. The United Center is owned by Reinsdorf and and Blackhawks owner Danny Wirtz and his family.
Clark will not play Saturday against the Sky due to a quad injury, the result of which has led to a steep decline in ticket sale prices. Prior to the announcement that she would be sidelined for at least two weeks, the resale ticket price began at $393. Over the last 12 days those prices have plummeted, with tickets available for as little as $12 the morning of the game.
Earlier this week Clark addressed the media and nixed speculation that she would potentially return Saturday. “I’m not going to rush back if it’s not worth it,” she said. “But after this weekend I’ll be reevaluated and we’ll have a better idea of when I’m returning.”
The Fever’s 35-point blowout of the Sky in the season opener averaged 2.7 million viewers on ESPN, making it the network’s most watched WNBA game ever. The Fever own the all-time record against the Sky going 42–29 over the last 19 years.
“It’s a historic arena,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said before the game. “We get great support from both sides. Indiana has a ton of fan support. Chicago has a ton of fan support. It’s a great opportunity for us to meet up.”
