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Atlanta Dream challenge daytime Finals slot in open letter

Atlanta Dream’s owners say their warnings about an available, sufficiently large Finals venue went unheeded. the sixth game against the Golden State Valkyries will take place at State Farm Arena on Thursday daytime, requiring another change to the Hawks’ schedule. The Dream say the workday timing was not the solution they sought for fans.

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Imagined representative view of State Farm Arena: an empty wooden basketball court and two hoops seen steeply from above, surrounded by tiers of dark seats.

Owners object to the Thursday daytime start

Atlanta Dream’s owners used an open letter to the city to challenge the arrangements for the sixth game of the Women’s National Basketball Association Finals. The team will face the Golden State Valkyries at State Farm Arena, the home of Atlanta’s NBA team, the Hawks. The Dream said earlier warnings about securing a sufficiently large, available arena had not received the attention they deserved. That criticism is the club’s account of the planning process.[1], [2]

The game has moved from an evening slot to Thursday daytime. Dream management said this was not the outcome it had wanted because fans have work and school commitments. Coach Karl Smesko also described the difficulty for spectators, saying some people would be unable to attend with work commitments. He hoped as many fans as possible would still be able to watch.[1]

A larger arena also houses the Hawks

The Dream’s regular home court is Gateway Center, with room for about three thousand five hundred spectators. State Farm Arena holds roughly seventeen thousand. Atlanta have used the larger building for their postseason home games, and the owners said they wanted the city’s fans to have the chance to attend the Finals there. They acknowledged their attachment to Gateway but argued that this series called for the larger venue.[1]

Making space for the sixth game also required moving the Hawks’ NBA home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers later that evening. A previous Finals game in Atlanta had already prompted a change to a Hawks home date. All three Finals games in the city required adjustments. The Dream said they had raised the possibility of conflicting arena dates months earlier and repeated their concerns as the playoffs continued.[1]

League points to cooperation on the arrangements

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league worked with the Dream, arena, NBA and broadcast partners on the arrangements. She thanked the parties for their flexibility in making the move possible and pointed to the crowds at the earlier Atlanta games.[1]

References

  1. News sourceESPNAtlanta Dream criticise venue and schedule decision for WNBA Finals game↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5
  2. News sourceYahoo SportsAtlanta Dream owners challenge Finals scheduling in open letter↩

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