Atlanta Dream Home Venue for WNBA Finals Remains Unconfirmed
- The venue for the Atlanta Dream's home games in the WNBA Finals remains unconfirmed.
- That small seating limit has sparked questions over whether the franchise will move the games to a larger location.
- The scheduling brings three potential home dates to the Atlanta area on Oct.
The venue for the Atlanta Dream’s home games in the WNBA Finals remains unconfirmed. The team is scheduled to host Games 3, 4, and potentially Game 6 against the Golden State Valkyries on Oct. 22, 24, and 29. However, their home arena since 2021, Gateway Center Arena at College Park, holds a capacity of just 3,500 fans.
That small seating limit has sparked questions over whether the franchise will move the games to a larger location. The team has not yet announced if a bigger venue has been secured for the championship matchup. Meanwhile, the visiting Golden State squad plans to stay put on the West Coast for their home games.
Gateway Center Arena Capacity And Finals Schedule
The scheduling brings three potential home dates to the Atlanta area on Oct. 22, 24, and 29. The Gateway Center Arena at College Park has served as the team’s home floor since 2021, but its 3,500-seat capacity falls well short of typical WNBA Finals attendance figures.
“The Valkyries will be playing at Chase Center all the way through" Before the @Valkyries advanced to the @WNBA finals last night, Team President Jess Smith told @sportsiren that they’ll be the top arena priority through the FinalsHear WNBA Central every Friday from 1-2pm ET! pic.twitter.com/yFtN3fadoP”
We will not play a game outside of Chase Center this postseason,
Valkyries team president Jess Smith said. Smith added that arena scheduling conflicts with contingency dates are standard operating procedure across decades of sports management.
Roster Experience And Eastern Conference Dominance
Atlanta earned the Eastern Conference’s top seed through a 30-14 regular-season record under first-year head coach Karl Smesko. The squad built its success on a high-octane offense that ranked third in the league with 91.3 points per contest. Offseason additions Angel Reese and DeWanna Bonner joined core stars Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray to drive the franchise’s postseason push.
The Dream swept the Washington Mystics and defeated the New York Liberty in a tough semifinal series to reach their first WNBA Finals since 2013. Guard Rhyne Howard noted that playing high-stakes matchups at alternate local sites during the regular season prepared the roster for the upcoming atmosphere. We didn’t have playoff games last year, but we had a couple of games there, and they felt like playoff games,
Howard said.