WNBA Opts for Daytime Tip-off in Bigger Arena for Game 6 of Finals

After days of negotiations, the Dream will host the potential championship-deciding matinee at the higher-capacity State Farm Arena as opposed to their smaller home venue.

Angel Reese and the Dream have played all of their playoff games at State Farm Arena, and will continue that with Game 6. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

SAN FRANCISCO — Game 6 of the WNBA Finals will be held at State Farm Arena after days of round-the-clock negotiations and much speculation. The potentially decisive contest was slated to take place at the Dream’s home venue, Gateway Center Arena at College Park on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. ET, but has been moved to the larger, more centrally located State Farm Arena at 12:30 p.m. ET on the same day. To facilitate the move, the Hawks pushed back their home game against the Cavaliers to 8 p.m. ET, and will share the court with the Dream in a Thursday doubleheader.

“Super excited that it will be at State Farm,” Jordin Canada said during Monday’s shootaround. “The crowd has showed up and showed out for Games 3 and 4, so looking forward to being at State Farm for Game 6.”

​The Game 6 move comes after the WNBA, NBA, Valkyries and Dream worked out logistics to relocate Games 3 and 4 to State Farm, moving up Game 3 and executing a doubleheader with the Hawks for Game 4. Both of those games were sellouts, with State Farm boasting over 17,000 seats to Gateway’s 3,500. The Dream played six regular-season games as well as all of their playoff games at State Farm this year. Atlanta announced a multi-year partnership with State Farm Arena in early October, making the venue the host of the team’s home games starting in 2027.

“The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we’re excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We thank the NBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility that made this move possible. We look forward to delivering another unforgettable Finals experience in Atlanta.”

​The reality of a potential championship game being played in front of a 3,500-person crowd was seemingly unacceptable to the stakeholders involved, but now they must live with the possibility of a trophy being presented on a Thursday afternoon. (Which appears to be the best of several less-than-ideal outcomes.) Speaking of which, what happens to the pomp and circumstance of a trophy presentation when a champion is crowned and the court has to flip quickly to accommodate the Hawks’ tip-off?

“I don’t care if we’re playing at 8 a.m., 10 p.m., midnight; we got a championship to win,” Allisha Gray said during Monday’s shootaround.

Though Valkyries fans are among the most loyal in the league, Game 6 will tip off at 9:30 a.m. in California, meaning they might have to watch their team win its first championship at noon on a Thursday. That is less than ideal for a fandom that has come to define the league in Golden State’s two short years in the WNBA. 

That is to say nothing of the issue that the matinee presents for the WNBA’s media partners, who now have to try to get viewers to tune in to a consequential game on a weekday afternoon.

“The WNBA and NBA, alongside USA Network, NBC and Peacock, will bolster their marketing and promotional efforts with a coordinated push across broadcast, digital and social platforms to drive tune-in and build awareness of the new game time,” the WNBA said in a statement.

While the league has enjoyed astronomical growth, as evidenced by sellout crowds at Chase Center and State Farm for the Finals, the last-minute switch-up reflects some lingering growing pains affecting the WNBA and the Dream.

---