Several of this month’s WNBA Finals games between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries may have to be played in a much smaller venue than usual as the Dream’s preferred arena has already been booked out.
The Georgia side is scheduled to host Games 3, 4 and 6 (if the last is needed) in the best-of-seven series to decide this year’s championship and, as it stands, will have to do so in the Gateway Center Arena at the city’s College Park, which only has room to accommodate 3,500 fans.
By contrast, the Valkyries will host Games 1 and 2, as well as 5 and 7 if needed, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, which can hold 18,064 spectators.
Morgan Shaw Parker, the Dream’s president and chief operating officer, said last week that the team was “finalizing details on their home venue and where we will be playing” but has so far not offered an update on a larger venue.
The fixtures in question fall on October 22, 24 and 29 so Parker has less than 10 days to find an alternative.
The Atlanta Dream return to the championships for the first time since 2013 after beating New York Liberty in the semi-finals Friday (Getty)
Her team was based at the State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta from 2008 to 2016 and from 2019 to 2021. They moved five of their home games and all three of their previous home playoff games there this season and are due to return permanently in 2027.
With a capacity of 17,044, it was the obvious place for the Dream to host their championship clashes with the Valkyries, their first appearance in the finals in 13 years after they saw off the Washington Mystics and New York Liberty in the first round and semi-finals respectively.
However, the singer-songwriter Sombr is playing a gig at the Farm on October 22 while the Atlanta Hawks have games there on the 24 and 29.
The Dream left State Farm, then known as the Philips Arena, for the 2017/18 season while it was being refurbished and played their games at Georgia Tech‘s McCamish Pavilion instead, before briefly returning and then making the switch to the Gateway Center after the Covid-19 pandemic came to an end.
Since then, women’s basketball has rocketed in popularity – with the likes of Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, A’ja Wilson, Arike Ogunbowale, Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Mitchell and the Dream’s own Angel Reese attaining superstar status – forcing a rethink from the team’s hierarchy that should prevent the present embarrassment recurring from next season onwards.
Dream superstar Angel Reese could find herself forced to play WNBA Finals games in an arena with a capacity of just 3,500 (Getty)
According to USA Today, the Pavilion, which has 8,600 seats, and the nearby Gas South Arena, which has 13,000, were sounded as potential alternatives but likewise “hit a roadblock,” the outlet’s sources said.
There is a recent precedent for a WNBA Finals series being played in such a small venue: the Mystics hosted three games at the CareFirst Arena in D.C. during the 2019 finals, a venue that seats just 4,200.
The situation has attracted a frustrated reaction from fans.
“The WNBA has been hyping up Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream all season just to have them play their finals home games in front of 3,500 people,” business owner Rachelle Morris wrote on X, noting the Valkyries superior capacity and adding: “Ironically it’s the team only two years old that’s ready for prime time.”
Podcaster Jaime Lardis commented: “They need to let the Atlanta Dream play somewhere else. 3,500 seats? That’s a junior college game, not a WNBA Finals game.”
“Honestly, if the WNBA doesn’t relocate the Atlanta Dream’s home game in the Finals to a bigger venue, that’s a disgrace,” she added.
“I’m not even a Dream fan, but that’s a terrible look for the league. I really hope they reconsider and find a venue that can accommodate more fans. The WNBA has been thriving since 2024. Let’s not take a step backward when we should be continuing to move forward.”