Attendance has become a big discussion point in women’s basketball this past year on both the college and WNBA levels. With a number of WNBA players heading overseas to play again, discussion has also continued about how those teams are funded given the salaries that some players are able to earn and the often visibly empty arenas that host some of the teams. That comparison generally leads to questions about whether women’s basketball is more popular outside of the United States.
With the group stages complete in both EuroLeague and EuroCup on the women’s side, it is a good time to discuss the attendances for those games to dispel some of the myths about popularity. Since some of the teams in these competitions are parts of clubs that have men’s teams in one of the four continent-wide competitions on that side, this is also a good time for direct comparison to address the myth of equality.
Qualifiers
Team participating in qualifying games got to host one game in the series. The only team that did not report attendance for their home game was Battipaglia in the EuroCup qualifiers. Rather than sort the teams, they are listed with the teams hosting the first games put in the top half and teams hosting the second games put in the bottom halves.
EuroLeague:
| Team | Attendance |
| Brno | 1215 |
| Constanta | 1484 |
| Besiktas | 600 |
| Szekszard | 850 |
| Zaragoza | 4161 |
| Landes | 2600 |
EuroCup:
| Team | Attendance |
| PAS Giannina | 600 |
| MTK | 800 |
| Osnabruck | 300 |
| Universitatea Cluj | 300 |
| Dinamo Sassari | 574 |
| Ferrol | 2305 |
| Angers | 1600 |
| Bodrum | 400 |
| Iraklis | 600 |
EuroLeague
Each team got to host three games and they are listed below sorted by average reported attendance. Fenerbahce did not report an attendance for their second game, but all other data was complete. It is no surprise to see Bourges near the top of the list with the small French town having a long history of supporting their team and the other two French teams are also among the top half with the league as a whole having relatively strong attendance compared to other European leagues. Zaragoza and Valencia are welcome additions to the elite level in Europe with their strong fan support joining the more historic contributions of Avenida from Spain.
| Team | Average |
| Zaragoza | 4230 |
| Bourges | 4183 |
| Valencia | 2866 |
| Avenida | 2726 |
| Landes | 2567 |
| Cukurova | 2500 |
| Villeneuve-d’Ascq | 2067 |
| Fenerbahce | 1713 |
| Schio | 1583 |
| Reyer Venezia | 1317 |
| DVTK | 1167 |
| Brno | 1163 |
| USK Praha | 1047 |
| Polkowice | 465 |
| Gyor | 337 |
| Olympiacos | 183 |
EuroCup
Teams got to host three games except for the teams in Elitzur Ramla’s group, which got to host a fourth game without attendance restriction so those numbers are included as well. Sepsi, Bodrum, Charnay, and Uniao Sportiva all failed to report numbers for one of their games. The top team here is also from the Spanish league in the form of Girona while Galatasaray did well to follow them. All five French teams finished in the top quarter of attendances. Newcomers AEL and Yerevan Foxes had first game attendances reflecting their making history, but those numbers fell off when it became clear that neither team could compete with the other teams in their group.
| Team | Average |
| Girona | 2231 |
| Galatasaray | 1734 |
| Gorzow | 1667 |
| Angers | 1505 |
| Ferrol | 1296 |
| Lyon | 1117 |
| Lattes Montpellier | 1113 |
| KP Brno | 1062 |
| Charnay | 950 |
| Berlin | 926 |
| Tarbes | 896 |
| Sopron | 817 |
| Piestanske Cajky | 792 |
| Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe | 750 |
| Jairis | 734 |
| Lublin | 643 |
| Chomutov | 633 |
| Peli-Karhut | 616 |
| Magnolia Campobasso | 575 |
| Szekszard | 517 |
| Estudiantes | 488 |
| Caledonia Gladiators | 459 |
| Besiktas | 452 |
| Uniao Sportiva | 450 |
| Dinamo Sassari | 447 |
| Constanta | 437 |
| Ibaeta | 433 |
| PEAC | 400 |
| Iraklis | 300 |
| Riga | 296 |
| AEL Limassol | 283 |
| Zaglebie Sosnowiec | 283 |
| Braine | 277 |
| Fribourg | 269 |
| Benfica | 256 |
| Arka Gdynia | 250 |
| Panathinaikos | 223 |
| Sesto San Giovanni | 217 |
| Kibirkstis | 201 |
| Crvena zvezda | 200 |
| Keltern | 200 |
| Proteas Voulas | 193 |
| Neptunas | 184 |
| Namur | 183 |
| Bodrum | 160 |
| Mechelen | 133 |
| Yerevan Foxes | 105 |
Direct Comparisons with Men’s Teams
All 17 clubs with teams in continental competitions on both sides are included here sorted by the average reported attendance for the women’s team. Whether teams are in EuroLeague or EuroCup on the women’s side is indicated along with either EuroLeague, EuroCup, Basketball Champions League, or FIBA Europe Cup on the men’s side. The average on the men’s side does include cases where teams play in multiple home arenas, but does not include neutral site or restricted attendance games or any games with no reported attendance yet and runs through November. The last column is how much higher the men’s attendance was with only Zaragoza reporting a higher average for women’s games.
| Team | Competition | Average | Competition (M) | Average (M) | Difference |
| Zaragoza | ELW | 4230 | FEC | 3567 | -663 |
| Valencia | ELW | 2866 | EC | 4586 | 1720 |
| Galatasaray | ECW | 1734 | BCL | 1800 | 66 |
| Fenerbahce | ELW | 1713 | EL | 11627 | 9915 |
| Reyer Venezia | ELW | 1317 | EC | 2318 | 1001 |
| Lyon | ECW | 1117 | EL | 7199 | 6082 |
| Berlin | ECW | 926 | EL | 8623 | 7698 |
| Caledonia Gladiators | ECW | 459 | FEC | 1000 | 541 |
| Besiktas | ECW | 452 | EC | 1619 | 1167 |
| Dinamo Sassari | ECW | 447 | FEC | 1477 | 1030 |
| Constanta | ECW | 437 | FEC | 775 | 338 |
| Fribourg | ECW | 269 | FEC | 1619 | 1350 |
| Benfica | ECW | 256 | BCL | 768 | 512 |
| Panathinaikos | ECW | 223 | EL | 14296 | 14073 |
| Crvena zvezda | ECW | 200 | EL | 15908 | 15708 |
| Neptunas | ECW | 184 | FEC | 3257 | 3073 |
| Olympiacos | ELW | 183 | EL | 11224 | 11041 |
Zaragoza’s strong showing continues to be a great story, although Galatasaray not being elite on the men’s side has helped create an achievable target for the women’s team. Like their Istanbul rivals, Fenerbahce’s fanbase is estimated at around 30 million worldwide, a number which certainly seems feasible based on social media engagement, but with only two datapoints, their actual women’s team attendance is not that high. It is already on pace to greatly exceed last year’s average of 681.25 in eight home EuroLeague games even as prices for anything other than the first two rows have slowly risen to a little less than $5 per game with their roster featuring five players who were in WNBA rotations last season and another three players who were in WNBA rotations in previous seasons. Berlin, which has been trying to quickly build its women’s team, will be hoping that they can increase their women’s team attendance while their men’s team has struggled at the top level. Lyon, another club that has joined the elite competition on the men’s side, has seen chaos in recent years decrease what both teams could accomplish.
Team Budgets
When the New York Liberty reported a $2 million gate revenue for a single game where they hosted the Indiana Fever, it created a rare data point to compare with some of the figures that are occasionally made available elsewhere. It is a bit unclear what is included in that number when it comes to a prorated portion of season tickets or premium seating, but the average revenue for a team in France’s top league for an entire season from any sources, including direct subsidies from local governments, is less than $3 million. Seeing the attendance figures in European competition and for domestic leagues and then looking at the generally cheaper ticket prices makes it clear how big the gulf in revenue can be.
As a result of the general lack of revenue, even in men’s basketball, descriptions of the financial situations of teams in overseas leagues generally centers on the budget, which just discusses expenditures, instead of any discussion on revenue or profitability like when Virtus Bologna opted to shutter their women’s team in the offseason to save at least $3 million this season. Fenerbahce, which has likely had the highest average budget across recent years, is likely at around half of the men’s total on the women’s side. Lyon’s high water mark on the women’s side was at least a $5 million budget, which could not compare to the men’s side being given around $22.5 million to operate in the same season, although neither team is believed to have a comparable budget this season. In Spain, Valencia was estimated to be spending slight over $3 million in a season where the men’s team was operating on over $19 million. While Cukurova and Fenerbahce are the two undefeated teams in EuroLeague with relatively monster budgets again, the other two teams to make the Final Four last year were running on budgets of less than $3 million and $5 million.
WNBA Expenses
As WNBA expenses continue to increase, whether from the negotiated increases in player compensation, increasing coach salaries to attract stronger candidates, or more comfortable travel arrangements, all teams should have higher operating budgets than every other team from around the world soon if they have not already reached that point, not even counting capital expenditures for projects like building or upgrading practice facilities. The difference in expense types creates the difference in budget percentage going to players. On the basketball side, overseas teams do not have to compete with college for coaching candidates, allowing the middle tier of teams in particular to not need to spend much on a coach. Without the complex salary cap rules, the coach and a representative of the ownership can handle the signing of players without the need for additional front office personnel.
On the non-basketball side, the WNBA is bringing in revenue, but it costs money to attract and maintain that revenue. When tickets are sold for serious money, the fans purchasing them expect great service and a good arena experience. Even the teams that play at lower capacity venues have multiple full-time ticket staff that they must compete with professional and college teams to hire, a business structure that not every overseas team has to deal with ever. With the need for revenue from fans, marketing staff also need to be hired and the higher quality media production that fans in the United States expect also requires dedicated staff. While these kinds of expenses will not need to increase at the same rate as player compensation as team revenues increase, they still represent a significant portion of budgets right now.
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