[卡尔]2024 年女子体育可能成为价值 10 亿美元的产业——原因如下

时间：2024-03-09|浏览：214

2023 年对于女性体育界来说是关键的一年——NCAA 女子篮球锦标赛和女子世界杯等破纪录的赛事定义了这一转折点。

预计女子运动在未来一年将变得更加盛大。

新的职业女子冰球联盟于一月份拉开了首个赛季的序幕。

即将举行的奥运会，男女运动员人数将相等，这在奥运会历史上尚属首次。

德勤预测，到 2024 年，女子精英运动的收入将首次超过 10 亿美元，比 2021 年行业评估增长 300%。

很难确切地指出是什么推动了女子运动的突然普及。

一些球迷指出，像网球运动员

可可·高夫和大学篮球明星凯特琳·克拉克这样的年轻新星正在吸引新的观众观看他们的运动，而教练和体育高管将这种增长归因于对女子职业联赛的新投资和更多的赞助机会。

女子体育运动的这四个突出时刻突显了其在过去一年中的成功，并可能暗示其在 2024 年将继续崛起：

有史以来参加人数最多的女子体育赛事

2023 年 8 月 30 日，内布拉斯加州林肯纪念体育场对阵奥马哈小牛队的比赛前，内布拉斯加州玉米壳队站在球场上进行介绍。

史蒂文·布兰斯科姆 |

盖蒂图片社体育|

盖蒂图片社

8月30日，内布拉斯加州的一场大学排球比赛在看台上打破了世界纪录。

内布拉斯加州玉米壳队吸引了超过 92,000 名球迷，他们表示，他们对阵内布拉斯加州奥马哈队的比赛吸引了有史以来观看人数最多的女子体育比赛。

林肯纪念体育场的球迷数量打破了此前在西班牙2022年欧冠联赛中巴塞罗那队对阵沃尔夫斯堡队时创下的91,648人的纪录。

三届奥运会奖牌得主乔丹·拉尔森 (Jordan Larson) 在大学时曾为 Huskers 队效力，并于 2023 年以助理教练的身份重新加入球队，她随美国女排在加拿大旅行时在网上观看了这场历史性的比赛。

“队里的另外两名前哈斯克队员贾斯汀·王-奥兰特斯和凯尔西·罗宾逊，我和我把溪流拉了上来，从我们所在的地方观看比赛，我感到不寒而栗，所以我只能想象在体育场里的感觉，”她告诉我们CNBC 做到了。

“我认为最酷的部分是我有来自世界各地的朋友发短信问我，‘内布拉斯加州发生了什么事？’”

据 NCAA 报道，2023 年对于大学女排来说是破纪录的一年，比赛上座率和电视收视率飙升，并认为夏季比赛的成功激发了人们对这项运动的更大兴趣。

The game wasn't just a celebration for Nebraska, but a statement for "all women in sports," Larson adds. "To what it has done to the world of volleyball, and now the capacity for our sport, is huge."

The Caitlin Clark effect

Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes waves to the crowd during senior day festivities after the match-up against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 3, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa.

Matthew Holst | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

A few weeks after Nebraska's historic game, the University of Iowa women's basketball team, led by 22-year-old Caitlin Clark, hosted their own outdoor preseason game in its football stadium, drawing more than 55,000 fans.

It's hardly surprising that such a large crowd turned out to see the Hawkeyes, as Clark's dominance on the court converts more casual viewers to women's college basketball fans.

Clark, a sharpshooting point guard with impressive range, has broken several major records across men's and women's college basketball — most recently on March 3, when she became the NCAA Division 1 all-time leading scorer in men's and women's college basketball in Iowa's game against Ohio State.

Clark has drawn all kinds of celebrities to Iowa Hawkeye games, from actor Jason Sudeikis to rapper Travis Scott.

Her performance has also lured in millions more viewers to college women's basketball at home: The 2023 NCAA Division 1 championship game, where the Hawkeyes lost to Louisiana State University, had nearly 10 million viewers on ABC and ESPN2, a record for an NCAA women's basketball game.

The "Caitlin Clark effect" could soon be seen in women's professional basketball as Clark recently announced that she is forgoing her last season of college hoops to enter the WNBA draft.

"I'm just kind of ready for the next chapter and a new challenge in my life," Clark said in a March 7 interview with "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts. "And what I've been able to do here has been very, very special."

A championship game draws the biggest crowd in WNBA history

Courtney Vandersloot of the New York Liberty drives to the basket during the game against the Las Vegas Aces during game 3 of the 2023 WNBA Finals on October 15, 2023 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Evan Yu | National Basketball Association | Getty Images

The momentum for women's basketball carried into the WNBA, which had its most-watched season in 21 years.

The New York Liberty hosted the largest crowd in WNBA history — clocking in at 17,143 — at Barclays Center on October 15 for Game 3 of the Finals, where the Liberty played against the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces won, becoming the first WNBA franchise in 21 years to repeat as champions (the Aces also won the championship in 2022).

“看到去年 WNBA 总决赛的所有观众人数记录真是太了不起了，”自由队主教练桑迪·布隆德罗说道。

“这真正证明了在巴克莱中心这样适当的舞台和聚光灯下，女子体育运动能够蓬勃发展。

Brondello 补充道，她期待在 2024 年迎来更多的观众，并在 5 月开始的下一季“希望能打破更多的观众记录”。