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The limited capacity at State Farm Arena for Atlanta Dream home playoff games is because of the short turnaround to sell tickets for the WNBA playoffs, a team spokesperson tells Front Office Sports.
“We just decided that with the short turnaround, we would only open the lower bowl and really concentrate on selling those tickets,” the spokesperson said.
State Farm Arena, which is owned by the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority and operated by the NBA’s Hawks, normally seats about 17,000 for basketball games, but the lower bowl fits about 8,800.
The Dream reported more than 9,700 attendees for each of its first two home playoff games, telling FOS they opened a portion of the top section to accommodate more fans once 8,800 tickets were sold.
Atlanta’s decision drew attention Sunday when journalist Christine Brennan questioned why the Dream closed off the upper section of State Farm Arena for Game 1 of their second-round series against the New York Liberty.
The Dream announced in late August that they would host their first- and second-round playoff games at State Farm Arena rather than the 3,500-seat Gateway Center, where the team plays most of its home games. Tickets were on sale starting Sept. 1.
But the exact date of the team’s home playoff games would be determined once the playoff seedings were finalized. The team’s August announcement said that the “playoff venue is subject to change.”
The Dream clinched home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs Sept. 23, the second-to-last day of the regular season. The following day, they learned that the Washington Mystics would be their first-round opponent. The WNBA announced the exact first-round schedule Sept. 25, two days before the Dream hosted Game 1.
Atlanta swept the Mystics in the first round Wednesday, clinching a second-round battle with the Liberty four days later. Tickets for Game 2 on Wednesday are also limited to the lower section, while tickets for the upper section of State Farm Arena are available for the Hawks preseason game Monday and a Charlie xcx concert Tuesday.
The Dream have played eight games at State Farm Arena this season, including six in the regular season. They sold out the full State Farm Arena for five of six regular-season games: twice against the Fever, twice against the Las Vegas Aces, and once against the Chicago Sky.
The team averaged 6,928 fans per game during the regular season, up nearly 2,500 compared to last season, the largest increase in the WNBA primarily due to increasing the number of games at State Farm Arena from one to six.
These are all the games the Dream hosted in State Farm Arena this season and the reported attendance:
- May 17 vs. Las Vegas Aces: 17,044
- June 20 vs. Indiana Fever: 17,044
- June 22 vs. Toronto Tempo: 9,685
- Aug. 3 vs. Las Vegas Aces: 17,044
- Aug. 16 vs. Indiana Fever: 17,099 (including standing-room-only tickets)
- Sept. 19 vs. Chicago Sky: 17,099 (including standing-room-only tickets)
- Sept. 22 vs. Washington Mystics: 9,766 (WNBA playoffs, Round 1)
- Oct. 4 vs. New York Liberty: 9,745 (WNBA playoffs, Round 2)
Dream Matchups
The Fever were the biggest road attendance draw across the league this year, averaging about 15,100 fans for their 22 away games, nearly 2,000 more than the Dallas Wings in second, according to Across the Timeline. Several franchises that don’t play in NBA-sized arenas also moved games against Caitlin Clark’s Fever to larger arenas, including the Sky, Wings, and Tempo.
But the Aces are also a draw specifically in Atlanta due to four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who played college basketball at the University of South Carolina, about a three-hour drive from Atlanta. The Dream also told FOS they planned to move the game against Chicago to State Farm Arena in anticipation of the demand to see Angel Reese, who was eventually traded to Atlanta in early April.
The Dream, who are ahead 1–0 in their best-of-five semifinal against the Liberty, have yet to announce where they will play home games if they advance to the WNBA Finals. The Dream will not have home court advantage against either the Aces or Golden State Valkyries, meaning they would host Games 3, 4, and 6 on Oct. 22, 24, and 29, respectively.
A Sombr concert is scheduled at State Farm Arena on Oct. 22, while two Hawks regular-season games are scheduled on Oct. 24 and Oct. 29.
“We’re finalizing the details around our home venue and, if we advance, will share that information ASAP,” the spokesperson told FOS.
Atlanta is one of the few WNBA teams whose owner has no other major sports holdings—whether in the NBA or elsewhere. The team coordinates with the Hawks to play games at State Farm Arena.
Last year, Dream president Morgan Shaw Parker told FOS their lease at Gateway Center was “year-to-year” and they were actively searching for a new home. The spokesperson said Monday that the team is still “working on logistics,” but is in discussions to play more than six games a year at State Farm Arena moving forward.
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