In February, the Big Ten women's basketball tournament sold out Target Center, fans flocking to Minneapolis to see the likes of Iowa's Caitlin Clark. With 129,512 total spectators, the tournament more than doubled the past record of 47,923, also set at Target Center in 2023.

The men's tournament, held in the same arena a week later, saw its lowest attendance (90,578) in a non-COVID year since 2015, according to MinnPost.

Ahead of this weekend's U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, Target Center ticket prices reflect a similar interest in women's sports, boosted by national star power and its financial impact. The chance to see gold medalists like Simone Biles and St. Paul's Suni Lee has sent resale ticket prices skyrocketing.

"[Simone] is an icon in our sport," former U.S. Olympic gymnast and the team's Strategic Lead Alicia Sacramone Quinn said ahead of Thursday's trials. Biles will headline Athleta's "Gold Over America" tour after the Olympics, returning to Target Center in September. "I don't know if there will ever be another gymnast who will ever come close to touching her caliber of achievements, difficulty and just the impact she's had on our sport."

As of noon on Wednesday, the cheapest tickets that will get spectators in for all four days in the upper level of the 20,000-person Target Center are $395 on StubHub, plus taxes and fees. The most expensive tickets in the lower bowl, third row, are going for $2,500. (The event is not quite sold out. A handful of all-session tickets are available on the official site for upper-bowl seats for $450 plus fees.)

But break it into the women's days (Friday and Sunday) and the men's days (Thursday and Saturday), and the price differences jump out. A single-day ticket for the men's trials on Saturday, when the Olympic team will be announced, is as cheap as $35 on StubHub — before taxes and fees, of course. Most lower-bowl tickets range from $200 to $450.

Those lower-bowl ticket prices would barely get you in the door for the second day of women's trials on Sunday. StubHub's upper-bowl get-in price is $225. To get in the lower bowl, you'll need to fork over at least $600. Many of the Sunday lower-bowl tickets are up for resale for over $1000.

Like the so-called "Clark effect" in Big Ten women's basketball, the presences of Biles and the household name recognition of an American women's gymnastics team that has medaled at the past eight Olympics — including back-to-back team golds in 2012 and 2016 and the last five individual all-around gold medalists — has helped drive ticket resale prices.

The U.S. men's team last medaled at the 2008 Olympics, earning bronze. However, the young men's team that competed at last year's world championships brought home a bronze medal and hopes that a strong performance in Paris could bring more attention in the U.S. to their competition.

"It would bring far more young, young kids to get into the sport," said 21-year-old Khoi Young, a member of 2023 worlds team. "We'd bring a lot more eyes to men's gymnastics and a lot more people talking about us. So I mean, we definitely want to be on that podium, just to inspire the younger generation."