Atlanta Dream Get a Bigger Venue for Finals Games 3 and 4, With an Assist From the Hawks

Leading up to the 2026 WNBA Finals, potential venue conflicts led to uncertainty as to when and where Games 3 and 4 of the series would take place. However, the league, with some help, resolved that matter on Tuesday and announced that the two games will take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The Atlanta Dream will host the contests as they battle the Golden State Valkyries in the league’s preeminent postseason series.

The conflicts stemmed from the Dream playing its home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. While a team hosting the WNBA Finals at its regular home venue seemed like a no-brainer, the Gateway Center has a capacity of just 3,500 and wouldn’t have provided much of a home-court advantage for the Dream as they seek their first championship.

During the regular season, the Dream moved six of their home games—and all three of their previous home playoff games—to State Farm Arena, which holds over 17,000. But Game 3 was scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, the same day the arena will host a Sombr concert, and Game 4 was set for Saturday, Oct. 24, the day of the Atlanta Hawks’ NBA regular-season home opener.

Those issues have now been resolved due to a date change and accommodation from the Hawks. Game 3 will now take place one day earlier than scheduled, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, which is an open date for State Farm Arena. Game 4 will still take place on Oct. 24, but it will tip off at 1 p.m. ET, after originally being scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The Hawks’ opener has been pushed back 30 minutes to an 8:30 p.m. ET start. The Hawks will host the Houston Rockets.

“We are grateful for the efforts made by numerous stakeholders, including the Dream, the Valkyries, the Hawks, State Farm Arena, and NBC Sports and USA Sports,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

“The change of venue dramatically expands the seating capacity and ensures that the Dream will be able to provide an extraordinary atmosphere for the first WNBA Finals game to be played in the Atlanta market since 2013. We are pleased that thousands more fans across the Southeast region will have the opportunity to experience the ultimate WNBA action—the WNBA Finals—in person.”

Fortunately for the Dream, they shouldn’t have this issue going forward. Starting next season, they officially move to State Farm Arena full-time.

The Valkyries also had a conflict with their home venue of the Chase Center that was previously resolved. Golden State is to host Games 1 and 2, but Game 2 on Monday, Oct. 19, conflicted with a Doja Cat concert at the venue. The concert has since been moved to Oct. 25, which is an off day and one day before Chase Center hosts a potential Game 5.

Valkyries owner Joe Lacob, who also owns the Golden State Warriors, admitted he put pressure on the league to work out an arrangement where Atlanta would host games at a larger venue than the Gateway Center.

“I felt, look, it’s not really about us, it’s about the league,” Lacob said Tuesday in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “The look would not be too good to have Ballhalla (Chase Center) and 18,000 fans here and 3,500 over there. I think it’s important for the league to play these games in the Finals, a great championship between two very good teams, in front of the same kind of crowd in both places.”

While each of the first five games of the 2026 WNBA Finals is set in stone, there remains a conflict on a potential Game 6. It is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29, with Atlanta hosting, but the Hawks also have a home game that day. Unlike the situation with Game 4, which takes place on a Saturday, having one game in the afternoon and the other at night seems highly unlikely on a Thursday.

Moving the game a day earlier, as with Game 3, also isn’t an option because the Hawks host a game on Wednesday, Oct. 28. More schedule juggling will be needed with either the Hawks or the WNBA’s broadcast partners.

The Finals matches the No. 4 seed Dream against the No. 2 seed Valkyries, with each team looking for its first WNBA championship. This is Atlanta’s fourth trip to the championship series, and first since 2013, while the Valkyries, who just joined the league in 2025, are making their first Finals appearance.

Game 1 will take place on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, with Game 2 on Monday at 8 p.m. ET. The first two games will take place at the Chase Center in San Francisco before the series shifts to Atlanta.