The Atlanta Dream will host WNBA Finals Games 3 and 4 against the Golden State Valkyries at the 17,004-seat State Farm Arena after scheduling conflicts involving a concert and an NBA game were resolved. Game 3 has been moved to October 21 at 8 p.m. ET, while Game 4 remains on October 24 but tips off at 1 p.m. ET. A potential conflict persists for a possible Game 6 on October 29.
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With the Atlanta Dream having secured a berth in the WNBA Finals, a venue complication arose: scheduling conflicts at the city's main downtown arena appeared to leave the team's home championship games without that facility, pointing instead toward a smaller alternative.
On Tuesday, the WNBA and NBA jointly announced that Games 3 and 4 of the Finals between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries would be held at State Farm Arena, a 17,004-seat facility in Atlanta, after an earlier plan to use a 3,500-seat venue south of downtown proved unworkable due to logistical constraints. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement that the relocated games would open postseason access to a broader base of fans across the Southeast and mark the first Finals contest in the Atlanta market since 2013. The change also moves the Dream out of Gateway Center Arena — the league's smallest home venue by seating capacity, where the franchise has hosted the bulk of its regular-season home games since 2021.
For the postseason run, the Dream relocated all their home contests to State Farm Arena — the Hawks' NBA venue — drawing crowds that averaged 9,745 per game. Beginning with the upcoming season, the Dream will establish State Farm Arena as their long-term home court through a multi-year agreement.
The Dream's run to their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013 brought scheduling complications at State Farm Arena, where a Sombr concert had already been booked for Oct. 22 — the date pencilled in for Game 3 — and a Hawks fixture occupied Oct. 24, the slot earmarked for Game 4. On Tuesday, a resolution took shape that will keep Dream home games at the larger downtown arena, ending a stretch of days during which the venue for those contests had been unsettled.
The third contest has been moved up by a day, with its start time set for 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 21. The game will be available via Peacock's streaming platform, with broadcast coverage also available on a television news network.
Scheduled for Oct. 24, the contest tips off at 1 p.m. ET as the opening half of a doubleheader arrangement, with the Hawks having pushed their own start back 30 minutes to 8:30 p.m. ET to accommodate it; Peacock holds the broadcast rights. A scheduling overlap persists for a potential Game 6, with Oct. 29 in Atlanta also hosting a Hawks home tip-off at 7 p.m. ET.
In a joint statement released Tuesday, the Atlanta Dream and Atlanta Hawks noted that locking in State Farm Arena as the venue for Games 3 and 4 of the Finals carries weight for the Dream's players, supporters, front office, and the broader Atlanta community, pointing to the upward trajectory of the team, women's basketball, and women's sports overall.
The Atlanta Dream will host WNBA Finals Games 3 and 4 at State Farm Arena, the Atlanta Hawks' home venue, after the team sought a larger space than its usual Gateway Center Arena, which holds only 3,500 fans. Game 3 was moved from October 22 to October 21, and State Farm Arena's capacity of over 17,000 seats will mark Atlanta's first WNBA Finals hosting since 2013. The series is a best-of-seven between the Golden State Valkyries and the Dream.
