The Las Vegas Aces make history again with home venue sellouts

The GIST: It’s already been a banner year for the Las Vegas Aces, who became the first WNBA team to sell out all regular season home games last Thursday. While the mainstream media has largely focused on rookie hype, the Aces’ numbers don’t lie: Dynasties are the real money makers.

The team: The reigning back-to-back champs initially made history this March as the first W team to sell out season tickets, and were dubbed the most in-demand team ahead of the 2024 season by StubHub. Last week, the Aces topped Sportico’s WNBA valuation list at $140M and currently boasts the WNBA’s fourth-highest average attendance (10.3K).

• All but two of the Aces’ games this season will be held at its 12K-seater home venue, Michelob Ultra Arena. Following the latest women’s sports trend, the Aces decided to flex up two of its games to the 20K-seater T-Mobile Arena.

• The Aces’ latest record means it sold out the massive Las Vegas venue twice, including the team’s upcoming July 2nd game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. Maybe it’s time to level up to the next stadium, Mark.

The precedent: Las Vegas hopes to be the first WNBA franchise to win three consecutive championships since the now-defunct Houston Comets in 2000. The Comets drew some of the WNBA’s highest viewership, especially due to its NY Liberty rivalry. When the Comets came to town in the late 90’s, the Liberty sold out MSG, according to WNBA legend Rebecca Lobo.

• Men’s sports further prove the financial momentum behind dynasties: at least six of the 10 most valuable sports franchises were once dynasties, including No. 2 on the list, the Golden State Warriors. Golden State built a $8.2B valuation on its four championships since 2015, quite the jump from the $450M the team was sold for in 2010.

The takeaway: There’s overlap between the WNBA’s best-performing teams and its highest-valued franchises, further proving the power of intentional ownership and long-term investment. The best examples of this are the Liberty under Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, and Mark Davis’ control of the Aces.

• Davis built the W’s first dedicated practice facility, hired Becky Hammon and made her the league’s highest-paid coach, and brought two consecutive championships to Vegas. Putting money into being the best pays on and off the court. Just win, baby.