Why Women’s National Semifinals Tickets Cost More Than Men’s
A ticket to see the Women’s National Semifinals starts at $703. Three events you could see for less money: Dodgers Opening Day ($394), Lakers vs. Warriors ($304), or, notably, the Men’s National Semifinals ($603).
That’s right, the get-in price (cheapest ticket) to see the Women’s National Semifinals runs about $100 higher than a ticket to see the Men’s National Semifinals.
With two months until tipoff, interest is materializing early and intensely. For comparison, our data shows that Women’s National Semifinals tickets at this time last year started at $566, and Men’s tickets started at $316, before dropping and rising respectively until prices were about $400 get-in for both before game day. In 2024, tickets to see stars like Caitlin Clark in the Women’s National Semifinals were nearly double the price of men’s tickets.
But at this point, it’s no longer the Caitlin Clark effect: this price trend has persisted for several years, showing a growing and sustainable increase in interest in women’s basketball. The market has shifted. At what point do we simply refer to these games as the National Semifinals and the Men’s National Semifinals?
The Venue Trap
Skeptics will point to one obvious factor: venue size. The Women’s National Semifinals venue, Mortgage Matchup Center, holds 18,422 seats compared to the Men’s National Semifinals venue, Lucas Oil Stadium, which holds 70,000. But to those who see this as a scarcity-driven fluke: note that the same trend is reflected in median ticket price purchases: the Women’s National Semifinals median ticket is $1,043 compared to the Men’s ticket of $988. Put simply, the typical fan is willing to spend more to see the women’s game, even when cheaper seats are available.
So while supply plays a clear role, venue size alone doesn’t explain the pricing gap: demand does.
We’ll have to see how the two compare in 2028, when the Women’s National Semifinals moves to Lucas Oil Stadium.
We'll update this analysis as game day approaches. Check back in March for updated pricing trends. For now, the data tells a clear story: women's basketball has staying power.
Methodology: This analysis is based on resale ticket pricing data from Gametime's marketplace in 2025 and 2026. "Get-in" prices represent the lowest available ticket price for each show at the time of measurement.
Rikki Bleiweiss is Content Lead at Gametime. Read more about our data journalism at gametime.co/blog/about
