Dream say concerns over finding Finals venue went unheeded - ESPN

ATLANTA — In an open letter addressed to the city, the Dream said concerns they had over the availability of a properly sized venue for WNBA Finals games in Atlanta went unheeded and that the solution of moving Game 6 up to 12:30 p.m. ET was «not what we fought for.»

Game 6 between the Dream and Golden State Valkyries will be played Thursday at 12:30 p.m. as opposed to the original schedule of 8 p.m. The shift in timing was a result of the game being moved to State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks.

The Dream have played all of their home games this postseason at State Farm Arena, which seats roughly 17,000 fans. Their home court, Gateway Center, fits just 3,500.

To accommodate Game 6, the Hawks' home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers that night will move back one hour to 8 p.m., as was Game 4 at State Farm Arena. All three Finals games in Atlanta have required hurried adjustments to the schedule.

«As much as we have great affection and nostalgia for Gateway Center Arena, we believed that our fans and the city wanted the opportunity to be a part of this historic series, and to see it played on a world-class stage,» the letter said. «That meant State Farm Arena.»

According to the letter, the Dream brought up concerns the franchise had involving playoff scheduling and dates that overlapped with NBA games at the arena two months ago. The organization said it reiterated the issues as the playoffs went on but, «Our concerns did not receive the attention, nor the urgency that they deserved.»

Multiple sources told ESPN's Alexa Philippou that the dates for the 2026 playoffs were sent internally to teams on Dec. 4, 2025.

Negotiations between the WNBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, NBA and broadcast partners took place over