WNBA Moves Finals Game to Midday to Play in NBA Arena

The WNBA has rescheduled Game 6 of the Finals, allowing the Atlanta Dream to host a possible championship-clinching game at the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena rather than the 3,500-seat Gateway Center.

The league and Dream announced Monday—hours ahead of Game 5 in San Francisco—that Game 6 on Thursday will be moved to 12:30 p.m. ET from its originally scheduled time of 8 p.m. ET. The WNBA had been exploring options to reschedule Game 6 of the Finals to allow the Dream to host at State Farm Arena since Saturday, when a Golden State Valkyries win guaranteed a sixth game.

“We’re thrilled to be playing in State Farm Arena and allow as many fans as possible to be there to cheer us on to a championship,” a Dream spokesperson told Front Office Sports. 

Game 7, which is scheduled for Oct. 31, will also remain as originally scheduled if necessary in San Francisco.

“The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we’re excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “We thank the NBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility that made this move possible.”

Game 6 had a scheduling conflict with a Hawks regular-season game Thursday. That game was moved from 7 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET to allow for a WNBA-NBA doubleheader, which State Farm Arena also did for Game 4. The Hawks also have a home game Wednesday.

State Farm Arena is owned by the city of Atlanta, but operated by the Hawks, who have played there since it was built in 1999. The Dream ownership group, led by Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and former Dream player Renee Montgomery, is totally separate from the Hawks ownership group led by Tony Ressler. 

The Dream had played their previous five home playoff games at State Farm Arena, announcing a month before the playoffs that they would play the first- and second-round playoff home games at State Farm Arena. But the team did not announce plans for the Finals.

Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals initially conflicted with a Sombr concert and a Hawks game, but were rescheduled by the WNBA less than a week before the Finals started to allow the Dream to host games at the bigger venue. The Dream sold out both home Finals games, though they limited capacity to the first three playoff games, telling FOS earlier this month that it was due to the tight turnaround between the season and playoffs.

Tickets for Game 6 will be on sale Monday at 4 p.m. ET. A Dream spokesperson told FOS that they will not limit capacity for Game 6 despite a three-day turnaround. 

The Dream have played their regular-season games at Gateway Center since 2021, after having previously played at the State Farm Arena from 2008 to 2016, and 2019. Starting next season, the Dream will play all their regular-season and playoff games at State Farm Arena as a part of a five-year deal.