Golden State Valkyries On SI

Difference Between Warriors, Valkyries Games Catches Attention

The WNBA and NBA teams play at Chase Center.

Will Despart

Golden State Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob at Chase Center.
Golden State Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob at Chase Center. / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The Golden State Valkyries may only be in their first year of existence as a franchise, but they've already set the mark for the highest average attendance in the WNBA this season by a wide margin. With an average of 18,064 paying fans per game, the Valkyries average over 1,300 more fans per game than the Indiana Fever, who are the next closest team.

According to established Golden State Warriors insider Tim Kawakami, the Valkyries' attendance figures aren't just empty numbers either. While the Warriors' home environment at the Chase Center typically suffers from all of the billionaire suits who populate the arena, Kawakami insisted the environment at "Balhalla" has a different type of electricity and appreciation for the sport.

"Chase doesn’t always thrum like this even for the Warriors — the rich guys stay in the suites, make deals, and maybe pay attention to the score and maybe not," Kawakami wrote. "I’m sure there are plenty of rich people at Valkyries games, but my gosh, there are tons of families, too. And they all stay in their seats and yell. A lot."

Whose House Is It?

While Kawakami made sure to give a nod to the fact that the Chase Center will always be "The House That Steph Curry Built", he suggested that the Valkyries have a unique opportunity to turn the arena into sacred grounds for themselves. In large part because of the fact that they are a more accessible live viewing option for families in the Bay Area.

"Of course, the Warriors — who will start their sixth season at Chase in the fall — are the most important team with the most important player who will ever play home games in this arena," Kawakami wrote. "But the Stephen Curry era started in Oakland and hit its first and highest emotional peaks there. Chase still feels like the new place for the Warriors, not the most sanctified.

"The Valkyries, though, are hitting peaks right now. Obviously, Bay Area women’s basketball fans were dying for this. Add in thousands of casual or non-WNBA fans who got curious once they heard the ruckus. And they can get to Valkyries' games, with all the amenities and familiar environment, at about half the price."

Regardless if the Golden State Valkyries' inaugural season ends in the first playoff berth by a first-year expansion team in WNBA history, they've been an overwhelming success story in regards to the growth of women's basketball.

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Will Despart
WILL DESPART

Will Despart is a Las Vegas-based sportswriter who covers the WNBA for OnSI. He also writes for Ballislife and handles multiple beats for The Sporting Tribune, including the Las Vegas Aces and Las Vegas Raiders. His reporting has been featured in newspapers across the country through the Field Level Media news wire.