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The Dream's WNBA Finals arena scramble shows the cost of being a tenant

By McKinley Malbrough III, J.D., MS-HRM · Certified WNBA player agent · Former certified NBA agent

Published October 12, 2026. Last updated October 14, 2026.

Why couldn't the Dream book their own Finals games?

Because the Dream play their biggest games in an arena the Hawks operate, and those dates were already booked. State Farm Arena had a Sombr concert on October 22, the original Game 3, and Hawks home games on October 24 and October 29, Games 4 and 6, per Field Level Media. The October 24 game is the Hawks' home opener against Houston, per GPB.

The Finals dates were announced in early September, and teams set their playoff hold dates before the season, per Front Office Sports. As of October 11, the Dream had not named a Finals home.

How big was the gap between the two arenas?

About 13,500 seats a game. Gateway Center Arena in College Park, where the Dream played 16 of 22 regular-season home games, seats 3,500 for basketball. State Farm Arena seats 17,044, and the Dream averaged 9,695 fans across three earlier home playoff games there, per Field Level Media.

Seats are only the start. Playing at Gateway would have turned away thousands of fans and capped revenue from tickets, premium seating, concessions and merchandise, per the Deseret News. Other options included Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion, Gas South Arena and Georgia State's Convocation Center, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Why didn't the Valkyries have the same problem?

Because their owner also owns the building. The Golden State Group owns the Valkyries, the Warriors and Chase Center, per Front Office Sports. When a Doja Cat concert landed on Finals Game 2, the team moved the concert to a contingency date and kept the game. Team president Brandon Schneider told SFGATE that Valkyries playoff games belong at Chase Center the same way Warriors games do, per the same report.

Even owning the arena is not a guarantee. In 2025, the Valkyries moved a first-round home game to SAP Center in San Jose because Chase Center was booked for the Laver Cup. Why that ownership model drives the franchise's value is covered in why the Valkyries are the WNBA’s most valuable team.

Has this happened to the Dream before?

Yes, in their last Finals. In 2013, a Disney on Ice booking moved the Dream's Finals games from Philips Arena, the same building, to the Gwinnett Center, per FOX Sports. The Washington Mystics hosted three 2019 Finals games in an arena that seats just over 4,000, per NBC Bay Area.

How was it resolved?

Update, October 13: the Dream and the Hawks announced a compromise in a joint statement. Game 3 moves up a day to Wednesday, October 21, at 8 p.m. Eastern. Game 4 stays on October 24 but tips at 1 p.m., and the Hawks' opener moves to 8:30 p.m., per GPB.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the move greatly expands seating, per the same report. A possible Game 6 on October 29 was still unresolved, per the Deseret News.

Any change needed sign-off from the Dream, the Valkyries, the WNBA, the NBA and the broadcast partners NBC and USA Network, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

What does the scramble say about WNBA business?

That owning or controlling the arena is a competitive advantage. On October 6, the Dream announced a multi-year deal to play all home games at State Farm Arena starting in 2027, per the Deseret News, which should end the problem. In Sportico's May valuations, the arena-owning Valkyries ranked first at $850 million and the Dream last at $280 million, per Just Women’s Sports.

For players, bigger buildings mean bigger league revenue, and revenue now drives pay under the new WNBA salary structure. Arena deals will matter more as Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia join through the WNBA expansion draft, and the Finals themselves are previewed in the Valkyries vs. Dream preview.