Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will serve as grand marshal of the 110th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, race officials announced Tuesday. The green flag is set to drop at 12:45 p.m. ET at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and will be broadcast on FOX.

Clark’s role involves giving the traditional command for drivers to report to their cars during the official pre-race ceremonies. Other sports stars who have shared this honor include former Fever legend and 2012 WNBA champion Tamika Catchings, five-time MLB champion Derek Jeter, two-time Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning and three-time NBA champion Larry Bird.

“I’m honored to represent Gainbridge as grand marshal of the Indy 500,” Clark said in an official statement. “I’m looking forward to experiencing an iconic piece of what makes Indiana so special and being part of the time-honored tradition of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’”

The green flag, which indicates the official start of the race, will be waved by Academy Award-winning actor and Indianapolis native Brendan Fraser.

Since the race takes place during the WNBA season, Clark’s game schedule kept her from participating in race-week activities in previous years. However, this year’s schedule worked out in her favor. The Fever will be in the middle of a six-day break after Friday’s home game against the Golden State Valkyries.

Despite only being in her third WNBA season, Clark is already one of the biggest superstars in basketball. During her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Clark set an NCAA Division I career scoring record with a total of 3,951 points. The Fever selected Clark as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 draft and she went on to win Rookie of the Year while setting the WNBA rookie record for total points scored in a single season, as well as the single-game assist record (19) and the single-season assist record (322).

“Since being drafted by the Fever, fans have been clamoring to share the epic celebration and thrilling excitement of Indy 500 Race Day with Caitlin,” INDYCAR and IMS President J. Douglas Boles said in a statement. “Through our incredible partnership with Gainbridge, everyone joining us for the world’s largest single-day spectator sporting event will get to do just that. Caitlin will bring unique energy and presence to a quintessentially Hoosier experience and an absolutely bucket list global sporting spectacle.”

The race is presented by online financial services company Gainbridge, a company Clark has been an ambassador for since her senior year with the Hawkeyes. The Fever play their home games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which they also share with the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.

Despite strong fan support, Edmonton still does not have a PWHL team, and the reason may come down more to logistics than interest. The Professional Women’s Hockey League is growing quickly, recently adding Detroit, Hamilton and Las Vegas as new markets. Edmonton, though, has not joined that list despite showing it can draw crowds.

During the 2025 Takeover Tour, more than 17,500 fans attended the Edmonton stop, one of the highest totals on the tour. The city also drew crowds above 10,000 for other PWHL games, showing there is clearly an audience for women’s hockey.

The bigger problem may be finding a home arena. Rogers Place already has a busy schedule with the Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Oil Kings sharing the building. Between the two teams, there are 75 home games across the season.

Once concerts and other events are added, fitting in another hockey team becomes difficult, especially since the PWHL now plays a longer schedule than it did in its early seasons. Ownership is another part of the issue.

The PWHL owns all of its teams directly instead of using separate ownership groups. That means any Edmonton team would likely need an agreement with Oilers Entertainment Group to play at Rogers Place without being owned by OEG.

According to Ice Warriors Media Group, the league and OEG did discuss bringing a team to Edmonton but were unable to reach an agreement. A smaller arena does not seem like an easy answer either. Downtown Community Arena only seats about 1,000 people, which is far below the size most PWHL teams play in.

So while Edmonton looks like a strong hockey market for the league, scheduling issues and arena arrangements may be what is keeping a team out of the city for now.

PWHL expansion keeps moving ahead without Edmonton

While Edmonton is still without a team, the Professional Women’s Hockey League has continued to add new markets at a fast pace. The league recently announced San Jose as its 12th franchise, adding another city to an expansion group that already included Detroit, Hamilton and Las Vegas.

That growth has come quickly. The PWHL started with six teams in 2023 and has now doubled in size in just a few seasons.

San Jose will play out of SAP Center, home of the San Jose Sharks. The city also brings a large market, growing interest in women’s sports and strong girls hockey participation.

The league’s executive Amy Scheer said San Jose’s hockey background, women’s sports scene and community growth all played a role in the decision.2

The league could also change how it is organized as more teams come in. Officials have previously discussed using conferences or divisions as travel becomes a bigger part of the schedule.

The league owns all of its teams and is backed by Mark Walter and Kimbra Walter. With 12 teams now in place, including seven in the United States, the league may also be in a stronger position when it comes to landing a national broadcast partner.