Atlanta Dream to host WNBA Finals home games at larger arena after scheduling swap - BERITAJA
After the Atlanta Dream reached the WNBA Finals past week, the ceremony was interrupted by a imaginable problem: Rather than play the title series’ location games astatine the city’s ample downtown arena, scheduling conflicts appeared to unit them to beryllium hosted astatine a mini arena.
On Tuesday, that script was avoided erstwhile the WNBA and NBA announced that aft respective logistical fixes, the Dream will big Games 3 and 4 of their WNBA Finals matchup against the Golden State Valkyries astatine Atlanta’s 17,004-seat State Farm Arena, alternatively than a 3,500-seat venue southbound of downtown.
“The alteration of venue dramatically expands the seating capacity and ensures that the Dream will beryllium capable to supply an bonzer ambiance for the first WNBA Finals crippled to beryllium played successful the Atlanta marketplace since 2013,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said successful a statement. “We are pleased that thousands much fans crossed the Southeast region will person the opportunity to acquisition the eventual WNBA action — the WNBA Finals — successful person.”
Since 2021, the Dream person played its virtually each of its regular-season games astatine the 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena about 30 minutes southbound of downtown, the smallest location arena successful the WNBA, by capacity. During this postseason, though, the Dream had shifted each location games to State Farm Arena, the location of the NBA’s Hawks, to an mean attendance of 9,745. The location displacement was a preview of a multi-year woody that will spot the Dream play location games full-time astatine State Farm Arena opening adjacent season.
After the Dream swept the New York Liberty to scope their first WNBA Finals since 2013 past week, however, conflicts instantly arose: a Sombr performance was group astatine State Farm Arena connected Oct. 22, the day of Game 3, and a Hawks crippled was scheduled for Oct. 24, the day of Game 4.
