When an All-Star Game concludes, speculation immediately commences among fans and media as to where the next one will take place.
Six years ago, the WNBA held its All-Star festivities in Minnesota at the Target Center. That year, league president Lisa Borders wasted no time letting us know that the next year’s festivities would emanate from Las Vegas.
Side note – we at Beyond The W penned a piece prior to that Borders’ presser predicting that Vegas would indeed be the site of All-Star weekend for 2019. Our crystal basketball was working magic that day.
We were on location at the 2018 All-Star festivities – and the same was the case for this year’s in Phoenix. And while the buzz about the 2025 All-Star weekend ranged from Seattle to New York as possibilities, Indianapolis simply made too much sense from a business perspective.
The city of Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana have such an incredible and enduring passion for the game of basketball, making the region the perfect host to celebrate the WNBA and the game’s greatest stars.
–Cathy Engelbert, WNBA commissioner (press release)
Indy may not be as glamorous a locale as Chicago, Las Vegas or even Phoenix. Plus, the fact that Indianapolis is located in the heart of a ruby red state like Indiana may also not exactly be in line for a progressive sports league like the W. But we know exactly why the Hoosier State is getting the nod from the WNBA.
One thing we have yet to see is what the 2025 WNBA All-Star logo will look like. Expect a lot of gold, navy blue and red, outlines of the state of Indiana and, perhaps, a nod to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Also – expect Pacers Sports & Entertainment brass to lean into the “Hoosier” State’s rich basketball history.
Leaders across our community are going to do what we do best: welcome fans from around the nation and the globe to Indiana, raise the bar for future host cities and leave a lasting legacy for our city and state.
–Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment (press release)
But again – we know why the Hoosier State is getting the nod from the WNBA.
The logo for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game might as well include a silhouette of Caitlin Clark because she is the primary catalyst for it being bestowed upon Indianapolis even if Seattle and New York may be more attractive options in terms of things to do.
This is clearly the WNBA attempting, once again, to capitalize on the Clark Effect. Clark herself was not mentioned in the W’s official press release announcing Indianapolis as the host for All-Star 2025 but a five-year old can see her fingerprints all over that press release.
When the WNBA announced that this year’s draft would be held in front of fans at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, that was done in large part to capitalize on the Clark Effect…
…and the Cameron Brink Effect…
…and the Angel Reese Effect…
…and the Rickea Jackson Effect…
…and the Kamilla Cardoso Effect among others.
In addition, there is a reason as to why the Fever have had a multitude of their games aired on national television. Also teams such as the Las Vegas Aces, Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics who do not play full-time in NBA arenas have moved their games to NBA arenas to accommodate the Clark-infused demand to see the Fever.
*(Sidenote to the Mystics – you also had this demand for the game with the Chicago Sky at Capital One Arena but fumbled the bag by capping tickets at 10,000)*
It was not that long ago prior to the conclusion of the Olympic break that the Fever’s official Twitter/X account posted the above tweet highlighting the increased attention the team has received since drafting Clark. It is a safe guess that a version of this graphic was probably included in their bid to the WNBA for All-Star 2025.
Indianapolis certainly deserves congratulations for landing what is one of the WNBA’s marquee events. Now that WNBA All-Star is an entire weekend as opposed to merely a single game, it is bigger and better than ever before. Especially given that this will be Indy’s first time in the All-Star spotlight for the W less than two years after it was also in the All-Star spotlight on the NBA end of the ledger.
In retrospect, this was an easy call even if Indianapolis may not put the pep in the step of fans the way a New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or even a Las Vegas does. In the meantime, map out one’s mid-July 2025 plans accordingly as we will for sure.
And hopefully for many those plans include a visit to Tea’s Me which is due north of downtown Indy.
