Playing in State Farm Arena isn’t anything new to the Atlanta Dream. Before moving into the 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena, the Dream called it home.
Now, after experimenting with a handful of games in the 17,000-seat arena over the last few years, the team announced on Tuesday that it would play all of its home games at State Farm Arena in 2027.
“We are super excited to have a multi-year deal to play all of our games, including the playoffs, here in this arena,” Dream President and Chief Operating Officer Morgan Shaw Parker said on Wednesday before the Dream’s Game 2 playoff game against the New York Liberty.
The news came in the midst of the Dream’s playoff run, where they are playing their home games in State Farm Arena.
Moving out of Gateway Center Arena opens up more seating, but the expectation shouldn’t be for all 17,000 seats to be opened up for each game.
Sources within the organization told The IX Sports that the Dream have been looking at different arenas within the Atlanta region that have around 10,000 to 12,000 capacity. The targeted arena was Georgia State University, but Georgia State didn’t want to have the Dream’s branding on their court.
Shaw Parker told The IX Sports back in September that the team would have an announcement soon on future arena plans.
“We’ve been very public about the fact that we need a long-term home, and we are working on a training facility, as well,” she said. “So we hope to have some big announcements coming soon.”
This is the announcement for now, and while Shaw Parker did say it’s a multi-year agreement, the exact terms of the lease isn’t known as of now.
What is known, though, is that the Dream are still eyeing a full-time home that is theirs and only theirs.
“We also know how to build infrastructure, and that’s the great thing of being owned by a gentleman who also owns a multifamily and private equity organization that is phenomenal,” Shaw Parker said of majority owner, Larry Gottesdiener. “We know how to do that, and so it’s no secret that Larry has also that his vision still stands to build a women’s-specific arena in Atlanta.”
The popularity for the Dream has soared since the new ownership group took over in 2021. The valuation around the franchise has followed, too.
Per Sportico, it’s climbed each of the last three years from $55 million in 2024 to $280 million in 2026 despite playing in the smallest arena in the league.
So is that, alone, the reason that now is the right time to move into a larger arena?
“We actually started playing games in State Farm Arena three years ago. We played one game, then we played a couple of games,” Shaw Parker said. “This year, we had five games announced before the season started, and we actually added a sixth. So it was still a test. I think this first year in State Farm Arena will actually still be a test as well, and we’ll figure it out as we go.”
Shaw Parker mentioned multiple times about the expanding business over the years. It is worth noting, though, that the move is coming a year after Angel Reese brought not just her game to Atlanta, but her brand, too.
“It was a huge impact to our organization with Angel coming in,” she said. “But what I have always said is that we would never have been able to attract someone like Angel Reese if we weren’t if we weren’t ready to receive her. And if you look at when she walked onto the stage in that very first press conference, and all she talked about was sisterhood. She said, ‘I want to be coached. I want to be better. I want the women on the stage to make me better.’ What she’s brought is undeniable.”
Season ticket prices have gone up across the league in each market, and Shaw Parker expects prices to go up again, but said there will be more opportunities for fans to get tickets at prices that make sense for them.
“I can confirm that prices will go up, and price points will go up, but the opportunity will be there to open up different price codes, so there’s going to be a place for everyone at the price point that they want to pay,” Shaw Parker told The IX Sports. “I can’t tell you what that is because we’re still learning. We’re still going through the playoffs right now, and every single playoff game, we’re learning more in terms of what this market will bear, and so it’s something that we’ll announce at a later date.”
Speaking of the playoffs, Shaw Parker said that they are “finalizing details on their home venue and where they will be playing” if they make it to the WNBA Finals.
If the Dream advance to the playoffs, they would host Game 3 and 4, as well as Game 6.
The Hawks have regular-season games scheduled on October 24 and October 29 – the dates of Game 4 and Game 6, respectively.
