Atlanta Dream and Hawks Pull Off Tricky Rescheduling to Get WNBA Finals at Bigger Arena

NEED TO KNOW

• The Atlanta Dream will play Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena, the team announced in a joint statement with the Atlanta Hawks

• The Dream normally play at Gateway Center Arena at College Park, which only holds 3,500 fans

• The date of Game 3 was moved to one day prior to accommodate musician Sombr’s previously booked concert at the venue

The Atlanta Dream will play their WNBA Finals home games at State Farm Arena, a relief for players and fans after tricky scheduling issues.

The Dream normally play at Gateway Center Arena at College Park, which holds just 3,500 attendees, leaving most fans unable to attend the WNBA Finals games against the Golden State Valkyrie.

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The hope was that the Dream could move to State Farm Arena, which has a capacity of 17,000 people, but that dream seemed unattainable due to the arena’s previously scheduled events, including an Oct. 22 concert date for Sombr and the Hawks’ home opener on Oct. 24 against the Houston Rockets.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Dream and the Hawks announced that they pulled off the “complex undertaking that required extraordinary collaboration to navigate numerous challenges in a short time period.”

The teams said in a statement they are “proud to announce that Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals will be played at State Farm Arena.”

As a solution for the conflicting events, Game 3 of the Finals was moved to Oct. 21 at 8 p.m., leaving the “back to friends” singer with his original concert date at the arena.

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On Saturday, Oct. 24, Atlanta basketball fans will be treated to a doubleheader as the Dream will play Game 4 of the Finals at 1 p.m. The Hawks will still host the Rockets that night, with tip off scheduled for 8 p.m. at State Farm Arena.

“Ensuring that Games 3 and 4 of the Finals will be played at State Farm Arena is an important moment for the Dream’s players, fans, the organization and the city of Atlanta and is a testament to the extraordinary momentum of the team, women’s basketball and the growing impact of women’s sports,” the Dream and Hawks said in their statement.

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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement, “The change of venue dramatically expands the seating capacity and ensures that the Dream will be able to provide an extraordinary atmosphere for the first WNBA Finals game to be played in the Atlanta market since 2013,” according to ESPN.

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Engelbert added, “We are pleased that thousands more fans across the Southeast region will have the opportunity to experience the ultimate WNBA action —the WNBA Finals — in person.”

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