The Atlanta Dream’s planned home venue for their first WNBA Finals appearance remained uncertain, according to reports cited by Fox News. The team was set to host games at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, which has a basketball capacity of 3,500, rather than State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The report attributed the venue issue to scheduling conflicts. State Farm Arena’s calendar listed a SOMBR concert on Oct. 22 and an Atlanta Hawks game against the Houston Rockets on Oct. 24, dates scheduled for Games 3 and 4 of the Finals. The Dream had not announced that they had secured a larger venue.
Morgan Shaw Parker, the franchise’s president and chief operating officer, said the previous week that the team was finalizing its home-venue arrangements. USA Today reported that McCamish Pavilion and Gas South Arena had been considered, but that efforts to relocate games encountered a roadblock. McCamish Pavilion, the home court for Georgia Tech basketball, holds 8,600, according to the source.
The Finals were scheduled to begin Saturday in California, with Atlanta facing the Golden State Valkyries in a best-of-seven series. The Dream entered the series after sweeping the Washington Mystics and New York Liberty in the first two playoff rounds. The team finished the regular season 30-14. Angel Reese, in her first season with Atlanta, was named Defensive Player of the Year and was set to make her Finals debut.
The venue information reflects the plans and reporting described in the source at publication time; it does not establish whether the Dream later announced a change.
