The Atlanta Dream will host Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks, the franchise announced Tuesday morning. Game 3 has been moved from Oct. 22 to Oct. 21, while Game 4 will remain on Oct. 24.
The WNBA Finals begin Saturday with the best-of-seven series between the Golden State Valkyries and the Dream, with Golden State hosting the first two games. The location of the Dream's home games had been undecided, as the team wanted to play in a bigger space than the Gateway Center Arena at College Park, which has been its home since 2021 and holds just 3,500 fans. State Farm Arena seats more than 17,000. Six of the Dream's regular-season games this season, and all three playoff games, have been played there.
The arena was booked for a Sombr concert on Oct. 22 and Hawks games on Oct. 24 and 29. To accommodate the change, Game 3 was moved a day earlier, and the Hawks adjusted their tipoff against the Houston Rockets from 8 p.m. to 8:30 on Oct. 24. The Valkyries and Dream will tip off at 1 p.m. instead of 3:30.
Hawks CEO Steve Koonin said ownership wanted everything possible done to make it happen. "It's great for basketball in Atlanta. It's great for the Dream. It's great for State Farm Arena." WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the change "dramatically expands the seating capacity," while Dream majority owner Larry Gottesdiener said, "This is what the players and the fans deserve."
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing