The Los Angeles Sparks will kick off the 2024 season at the Beach.
The Sparks are scheduled to play their first five home games at the Walter Pyramid, 1250 N. Bellflower Blvd., on Long Beach State’s campus, because of scheduled construction at Crypto.com Arena, the WNBA team announced.
Crypto.com Arena, where the Sparks have primarily played their home games since 2001, will be under construction as part of phase three of a three-year renovation project.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back the Los Angeles Sparks to the Walter Pyramid,” Long Beach State’s executive director of athletics, Bobby Smitheran, said in a news release. “We’re excited to once again showcase one of the premier women’s basketball teams in the world at Long Beach State.”
The WNBA will begin its 28th season on May 14. And for the second consecutive year, all 12 teams will play 40 regular-season games.
A day after the WNBA season gets underway, the Sparks will launch their 2024 game against the Atlanta Dream at Walter Pyramid. After that, the Sparks are scheduled to play four more home games at the Walter Pyramid. Those games are:
- May 21 vs. the Washington Mystics, which will see former Sparks player go against her former team.
- May 24 vs. the Indiana Fever, which will be a marquee game because of rookie sensation Caitlin Clark.
- May 26 vs. the Dallas Wings.
- June 5 vs. the Minnesota Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup in-season tournament.
The Sparks have sold out of season tickets, according to the WNBA website, but individual tickets for games at the Pyramid are still available, starting at $23, at longbeachstate.evenue.net.
The game that many are anticipating is the one against the Indiana Fever. That’s because of Clark — who helped elevate the popularity of this year’s women’s NCAA Tournament to unprecedented levels.
Tickets for that game are sold out, but resale tickets are starting at around $200.
There is a chance, though, that the Sparks move that game to a larger venue because of the the high demand for tickets. The Pyramid’s capacity is only about 4,000, which is considerably smaller than the 19,000 seats at Crypto.com Arena.
Other teams have already made venue changes to accommodate fans. Both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games against the Fever.
