GOING TO A PHOENIX MERCURY (WNBA) GAME WITH KIDS – Our Guide + Tips

Heading to a Phoenix Mercury WNBA game with your kids? Or are you trying to decide if it’s a good idea or not (spoiler: yes, it most definitely is).

My kids and I are big WNBA fans. We’re loyal to Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, but we also really enjoy watching the Seattle Storm and visiting new WNBA arenas.

Let’s take a look at what game day at a Phoenix Mercury game is like with kids. I’ll go over:

Buying Mercury tickets (including where to sit)
How to get to the game
What to bring (and not bring) to the game
When to arrive
Where to go for autographs
The food situation inside the Mercury’s arena
What to do pre-game
What the entertainment is like during breaks (time-outs and half-time)
How we’d rank this experience compared to other WNBA arenas

Table of Contents

Buying Phoenix Mercury Tickets

Referee holds the ball up for the jump ball to start the game at a Phoenix Mercury vs. Indiana Fever game in Phoenix. The stands are full of fans standing up.

The Phoenix Mercury play at the Mortgage Matchup Center, the same place the Phoenix Suns play. Note that the arena was called PHX Arena when we were there, and it may change again in the future.

The Mercury’s arena was designed for basketball, which is great if you’re thinking of buying upper-level tickets.

We sat in the lower bowl (Section 114, Row 8) but I would happily sit higher up too (which we did for a later Phoenix Suns game).

I found the seats in the lower bowl to be fairly shallow, so my son had to kind of peek between the people sitting in front of him. If you’ve got shorter/younger kids, you may want to sit up higher so they can have a more direct view of the court.

But, if your kids really want to participate in the entertainment (like catching a t-shirt), don’t sit too high up (that happened to us at a Suns game).

Also, think about sitting on the end of a row vs. sitting towards the middle. If you think your kids will want to get up a lot, use the bathroom, walk around, etc – get seats on the end. If you get annoyed standing up for others to walk by, try to get seats mid-row.

The Mercury sit in front of Section 101 and their opponents in front of Section 103. My kids really like to watch the players and coaches, so we try to sit opposite of the benches.

I purchased our tickets from Ticketmaster. I prefer to buy from Ticketmaster, but sometimes buy from 3rd party sites like Stubhub if the price is right (though I get really nervous about the tickets being delivered in time).

You can read more about buying tickets in my Guide to Buying WNBA Tickets.

Transport to the Phoenix Mercury’s Arena

The Mercury’s basketball arena is in downtown Phoenix (201 E. Jefferson Street).

The best way to arrive is by public transport. You can even use your ticket to ride for free on Phoenix light rail before and after the game.

Or, stay at a hotel in downtown Phoenix! We ended up at a place across the street (thank you, points!) and it was so convenient to just walk a minute to and from the arena.

If you’re driving, you can park in one of the garages or parking lots downtown, but the closest ones can be pricey (Tip: Prepay online and you’ll save $). You will also face some traffic post-game. If you’re coming from out of town and need a car, you may want to check out my guide to Renting a Car at the Phoenix Airport.

Nighttime view of the Phoenix basketball arena and a large parking lot next door. The view is from a hotel room above. The scene is shortly after the finish of a Phoenix Mercury WNBA game. — *The post-game parking lot and traffic situation (the arena is on the left)*

What to Bring to a Phoenix Mercury Game

Be Sure to Bring:

Your tickets on your phone
If you’ll be touring around Phoenix all day, have an external charger with you so you don’t show up with a dead phone battery!
You can bring in small sealed bottles of water and refill them in the stadium.
Hand sanitizer.

Don’t Bring:

Cash. Mortgage Matchup Center is a cashless venue.
Snacks. You can’t bring food into the arena.

Good To Know: Compared to some other sporting arenas/stadiums, we found the bag policy to be fairly lenient. Be sure to check out the Mortgage Matchup website for the most up-to-date info.

When to Arrive for a Phoenix Mercury Game with Your Kids

Boy in Caitlin Clark t-shirt walks toward the Phoenix, Arizona basketball arena. There are a few other people waiting in lines in front. — *My son walking up to the entrance lines, over 2 hours before the game start*

Check the arena website for the opening time, but know that sometimes arenas will let you in a little early. Our opening was supposed to be 5:30pm (for a 7:00pm start), and they opened the doors at 5:05pm.

If your kids are interested in basketball, arrive when the doors open and walk down to watch the warmups. It’s a great chance to get up close and see the players getting ready for the game. This is an especially good idea if you’re sitting up high in the stands because up high you can’t see details of the players, how tall they really are, etc.

If your kids want to try to get an autograph, be sure to arrive before the doors open. We arrived at the entrance at 4:52pm for the Indiana Fever game and we were about 10th in our line. We were able to enter and walk to wait for Fever autographs with no problem.

Good To Know: The lines at the front entrance are in the heat, but there are some fans and there is shade off to the side (I had my son wait in the shade while I stood in line in the sun). There is also a shaded entrance off to the left but it tends to be more crowded with longer lines.

Getting Autographs at a Phoenix Mercury Game

Boy holds basketball and sharpie while he waits for autographs from Indiana Fever players at the Phoenix Mercury's basketball arena. — *My son, hoping for autographs!*

As I mentioned above, if your kids want to get an autograph, be sure to arrive before the doors open. You’ll want to be one of the first to enter the arena.

We waited for autographs from Indiana Fever players at the 120 tunnel. My son was able to get autographs from many Fever players, but Caitlin Clark didn’t give autographs (we got unlucky, as she almost always does!).

As you’re in an area with seats, the security staff will kick kids out about 30 minutes before the game start.

The Food Situation for Families

Boy in stands at Phoenix Mercury game reaches for a slice of pizza in a box. — *Snack stop at Fry’s*

Boy stands at a concessions counter inside the basketball arena at a Phoenix Mercury WNBA game. Other people are being served by employees. Menu signs on back wall. — *Snack stop at Fry’s*

There’s a $2 value menu at the Mortgage Matchup Center. You can get items like chips, hot dogs, water, sodas, popcorn, etc. for $2 each! That’s pretty much unthinkable these days, and so nice to see.

There are other pricier options available (think tacos and pizza). My part-Italian son got the pizza ($15) and gave it his approval.

You can also eat outside of the arena at a restaurant nearby (plenty of them) or even grab something at the Fry’s grocery store across the street.

What to Do Pre-Game at a Mercury WNBA Game

Watch warm-ups.
Try to get autographs from Mercury players or players from the other team.
Shop for kid-sized gear. There’s a team shop and stands set up around the arena.

Helpful Tip: Team clothing is fun but can get pricey. You can wear purple or buy a t-shirt or jersey before the game.

Phoenix Mercury players warm up pre-game in their arena before they face the Indiana Fever. The clock shows 54:28 until tipoff. — *Watch the players warm up!*

Purple inflatable mascot inside the Phoenix basketball arena. Other employees stand in background. — *Say hi in the main lobby of the arena*

Boy walks down a hallway inside the Phoenix Mercury's basketball arena on game day. Other fans walk toward him. — *Explore the arena*

Mercury Entertainment (Besides Hoops)

The Phoenix Mercury has a fantastic entertainment team. From the pre-game kids club to the in-game entertainment, my son and I both really enjoyed all of the extras. My son loved the fire during the intros, and I was a big fan of the dancing dads (are they taking applications… I have a papà I’d like to recommend). We also thought their trampoline dunks were top notch, and my son still talks about the t-shirt he caught (or our neighbor did, cough cough).

If you’ve got kids who aren’t heavy into basketball yet, you can be guaranteed they’ll still have a blast at a Phoenix Mercury game!

Boy holds up a t-shirt that was thrown from the court into the stands at a Phoenix Mercury WNBA game. The stands are full. — *My son was thrilled to get a t-shirt from the court*

Dancing dads on the basketball court at a Phoenix Mercury vs. Indiana Fever WNBA game. The stands are full. — *The Dancing Dads!*

Phoenix Mercury Game with Kids vs. Other WNBA Teams

We’re huge WNBA fans and we’ve been fortunate enough to see home games for the:

Indiana Fever (multiple)
Seattle Storm (multiple)
Chicago Sky

Based on our experience at those arenas and our visit to the Phoenix Mercury’s arena, here’s what we thought:

The Mercury has awesome entertainment (probably our favorite so far). It’s varied, fun, and the entertainers really get the crowd involved.
The Mercury has annoying fans. Wait… don’t get mad. It’s a compliment. We were at the game as Indiana Fever fans, and the Mercury fans were so loud and passionate! They were very positive, and never made us feel bad for being fans of their opponent. I was just wishing they weren’t such amazing, vocal fans!
The Mercury’s family-friendly food concessions pricing was awesome and I wish more arenas had it.
I wish they’d had more shade (and misters?) while waiting in line to enter the arena.
Seattle still has our vote for most family-friendly area by the arena, but there are still family-friendly things to do in downtown Phoenix.

Here’s a sample of the Phoenix fans cheering (after a bucket by Kahleah Copper):