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Ballhalla is at the top of the list for loudest arenas in basketball. For Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, State Farm Arena may not have matched the loudness that makes Golden State the toughest arena for a visiting team to play in, but it sure matched the energy thanks to the 17,000-plus fans who showed up for the Atlanta Dream’s first WNBA Finals home game since 2013.
In a do-or-die Game 6, the Dream will hope to channel that same energy again at State Farm Arena, but from a … lunch crowd?
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It’s known by now that the Dream and Valkyries will play Game 6 at 12:30 p.m. eastern time, as first confirmed by ESPN — shortly after confirmed by me — but the journey to how we got here is the real story.
During Game 2 of the semifinals against the New York Liberty, Dream President and Chief Operating Officer Morgan Shaw Parker spoke to media members about the team playing all of their games in State Farm Arena for the 2027 season. But before she discussed that, she offered a statement about securing a venue for the WNBA Finals.
“I’d like to start by addressing finals,” Shaw Parker said. “So, we are finalizing details on our home venue and where we will be playing. We don’t have anything to confirm right now, and I will not be taking questions on that.”
Shaw Parker didn’t take questions on it, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t questions to answer.
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The IX Sports chatted with multiple sources leading up to the WNBA Finals as the Dream looked to secure a home venue for its hosted games — scheduled to be Game 3, Game 4 and Game 6 (if necessary).
There was an immediate scheduling conflict for the Dream for Game 3 and Game 4, as there was a concert held on the original date for the game (Oct. 22), so the Dream, Valkyries, the NBA, the WNBA and its broadcast partners agreed to move Game 3 up a day to Oct. 21.
Adjustments were also made for Game 4, with the Hawks allowing the Dream to play during the day while still hosting their home opener at night.
As soon as these games were locked down, there was a looming question out there: what happens if the series goes to six games?
I spoke to multiple sources within the organization ahead of the start of the WNBA Finals who said that, “we’re continuing to look at our options but it remains to be determined.”
With the Dream up two games to one, there were questions as to whether or not the series would even need to go to six games. But those questions — and hopes — are for fans to have, not for front offices.
During Game 4, I spoke to two sources who told me that the venue hadn’t been determined yet, as the parties have had discussions about the Dream using State Farm Arena for Game 6, but that the discussions were paused until the result of Game 4 was final to know if a Game 6 would be needed. After the game, discussions would be picked up.
I followed up to make sure I understood the response correctly, and they repeated that same verbiage.
They did add, though, that the Atlanta Hawks, who are the primary lease holder at State Farm Arena, are willing to do anything they need to do to accommodate the Dream to use State Farm Arena. The decision at that point was with the NBA and, specifically, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A spokesperson for the Cavaliers did not respond to a request for comment from The IX Sports.
To understand the full scope of the issues facing the Dream as they try to secure a venue, there are multiple layers that need to be discussed.
Let’s start with why the decision was in the hands of the Cavaliers, shall we? The Hawks and Cavaliers play at State Farm Arena on Thursday night, as part of a back-to-back, meaning both teams play on Wednesday, as well.
According to multiple sources within the Atlanta Hawks organization who wish to remain anonymous, there were discussions about looking at moving the game to Friday, but there were multiple concerns. The first was that the NBA makes a big deal about all Friday games being part of the NBA Cup. There were concerns about how the league would react to a game being played on Friday that wasn’t a part of NBA Cup action.
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The second concerning aspect was that both the Hawks and Cavaliers also play on Saturday on the road, adding an additional day of travel for both teams. The real concern, though, was that these big changes — including looking at the people who are working the game, the security and all of the logistics that go into hosting a game — were being made with little notice.
So why, then, did the Dream and the league wait until a few days before Game 6 to have this discussion?
Well, they didn’t.
Multiple sources tell me that the Dream have been working on finalizing their postseason plans for “months” now, dating back to mid-June.
Once the NBA schedule dropped on Aug. 13, the planning ramped up as the Hawks’ season wouldn’t kick off until the WNBA Finals at the latest. The Dream, who are independently owned and use the 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena as their home, were able to secure State Farm Arena for the first two rounds of the WNBA playoffs.
What’s more, multiple source within the organization told The IX Sports that when the WNBA finalized its playoff dates and times, the Dream raised concerns about conflicts with those days when it came to their goal and plan of playing all postseason games at State Farm Arena.
The source told me that they didn’t feel like their concerns were being heard from the league.
Now, is it fair to question why the Dream didn’t have plans in place from Day 1 of the season when the new collective bargaining agreement was put in place and Angel Reese was acquired?
Yes, it is. Expectations changed for the team, and those expectations had to change internally, too. The front office, though, has been working on securing a venue for months ahead of the playoffs.
But why the insistence on State Farm Arena when there are other venues in the city that the Dream could explore playing at?
It’s a question that has been posed a lot, and we have an answer for you. It’s about familiarity. The Dream want the players — and fans — to play somewhere they are familiar with, meaning either State Farm Arena or Gateway Center Arena.
Other venues were discussed internally, such as Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion, but multiple sources at the university tell me that the Dream never reached out to them about using their facilities for the playoffs.
The other two locations that are discussed as options are Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga., where the Dream had to play Game 3 of the WNBA Finals in 2013 due to a conflict with the then-Philips Arena hosting “Disney on Ice.”
Yes, Mickey Mouse had priority over the Dream.
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As far as returning to Gas South Arena this year, the venue was booked up for Game 4 and a Game 6, and the Dream didn’t consider the venue outside of internal discussions. The fear with Gas South Arena is that it is about an hour outside of the city and outside of the established footprint that the Dream have within Atlanta.
The other venue that was floated was Georgia State University. The Dream, before landing on State Farm Arena for 2027, were looking at potential venues, as they have outgrown Gateway Center Arena. One of those venues was Georgia State’s basketball arena, but the school didn’t want to have the Dream use their own branding on the court, so the conversations broke down.
Now, the Dream and the Valkyries will play a potentially series-clinching game at 12:30 p.m. ET and 9:30 a.m. PT for Golden State fans.
“We just need 94 feet and two baskets,” Kiah Stokes said after the Game 5 win.
If the Valkyries do win, though, what will it look like after the game?
After Game 4, Dream media — and Dream personnel — were told that all had to leave the arena by 4:30 p.m. as it takes three hours to flip over the court for the Hawks.
The press conference ended at 4:10 p.m., and while media were still working in the media room, State Farm Arena workers came in and told all media that they had 15 minutes left before they had to leave the building.
The Dream and Valkyries will tip-off at 12:30 p.m., and the Hawks are hosting the Cavaliers at 8 p.m., moving their starting time back to accommodate. Game 4 started at 1 p.m. with the Hawks playing at 8:30 p.m.
For both games, that’s a 7.5 hour gap from the start of one to the start of the other.
If the Valkyries win the game, they win the series, but will they be able to celebrate on the court? Will Cathy Engelbert be there to present the trophy to the team and award the MVP? Will USA Network be able to have its postgame live in the arena?
Other avenues have been discussed, such as moving the celebration to a practice facility or another venue in the city, but sources tell me the celebration is planned to happen on the court of State Farm Arena.
“I didn’t think these issues would still happen after the CBA was signed,” a source in the NBA told me on the condition of anonymity to avoid backlash. “There are a couple of teams in the league where if they were in the Finals, Heaven and Earth would be moved to accommodate them.”
Other avenues were explored before moving the game to a Thursday matinee. Those options included having Game 6 played on Friday, Oct. 30, and moving Game 7 back to Tuesday, Nov. 3 — Election Day — since the Golden State Warriors, who also call the Chase Center home, have games scheduled for Nov. 1-2.
While the Valkyries publicly said, “We fully support what’s best for the league and will stand behind whatever it decides,” a source familiar with their thinking said they felt like they have already been more than flexible and did not want to interrupt the plans of playing Game 7 at home on Oct. 31.
“Our fans deserve that,” the source told me.
For the game to be moved to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, all parties had to agree to it. That includes the Dream, the Valkyries, the WNBA, the NBA, State Farm Arena, the Hawks, the Cavaliers and the game’s broadcast partners.
This year, USA Network has the broadcasting rights to Game 6, which will also be streamed on Peacock. Under the league’s 11-year television deal, USA and NBC will get the rights to broadcast the WNBA Finals every other year ending with an even number, meaning the next time they’ll get to broadcast the Finals will be in 2030.
I spoke to a source within USA Network about the time change.
“Game 3 was moved a full day earlier and we accommodated it, so we are able to accommodate this,” the source said, who wished to remain anonymous. “That being said, I’m not sure you’d find any media executive who would pick to have the game at 12:30 p.m. instead of primetime, you know?”
Per the source, though, there are discussions about re-airing Game 6 later that evening on the USA Network properties for viewers who aren’t able to watch it live.
“We’re being a good partner,” the source said. “We’re able to accommodate it and we have an 11-year partner with the league. It’s been a great season.”
In what has been an engaging, chess-like WNBA Finals of move and counter-move, the attention has instead shifted away from the game being played and instead focused on when the game is being played.
“It’s an example of the league continuing to shoot itself in its foot,” a source within the league told me. “The players deserve better than this.”
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