After 13 long years, the Atlanta Dream have reached the WNBA Finals. But what has followed has been borderline disrespectful to these ladies. Just a day after the Dream swept the New York Liberty in the semifinals, the news broke that the Dream don’t have an arena to host their WNBA Finals home games.
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On the days that the Dream host Finals games in Atlanta, the State Farm Arena is already booked. Despite the Dream’s dominating performance in the playoffs, the Dream management didn’t keep a backup plan. The whole conflict drew strong criticism from former college player Rachel DeMita.
“I’ve already had a problem with these WNBA Finals because now we have eight days before the WNBA Finals,” DeMita said on her YouTube show, Courtside Club. “And if we’re just talking about the momentum of it all, it kind of sucks for the W because in that amount of time during those eight days, the NBA has ramped up with preseason. Their regular season starts on the 20th of October. This is the problem that we continue to run into with the WNBA scheduling. I don’t think they do great with scheduling in general.”
The Dream are scheduled to host three Finals games on Oct. 22, 24 and 29. On all three days, the stadium is booked. The seats are sold out for Sombr’s concert on Oct. 22. On the remaining two days, the Hawks play their home games of the regular season against the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively.
The Dream have a designated home court at Gateway Park Arena. However, it can only host 3,500 fans. In the last three seasons, Atlanta has sold out all of their games at Gateway Park. They have also sold out eight games at State Farm Arena with a 17,000 capacity during the same timeline.
“The problem with this is that the Atlanta Dream’s home court holds 3,500 people…I hate it. It’s dark in there,” DeMita added. “I think the girls deserve better. Obviously, they’re in the Finals right now. This is insane.”
The Dream would have a true home-court advantage at Gateway Park. However, with less than 4,000 fans cheering them, would that really do justice to these players who have willed their way to the top, playing some of the best team basketball? Moreover, the Dream would also massively lose their ticket sales.
During the semifinals, the Dream sold an average of 9,745 tickets. However, this number is set to increase precisely because they are playing against a team with the most loyal fanbase.
“It’s just not good, and the Golden State Valkyries already seem to have a home-court advantage even at away courts. We’ve seen the Valkyries,” DeMita pointed out. “We saw in the Aces series how much the Golden State Valkyries fans traveled…Their fans are so good. They’re real fans. I bet you that these real fans are also going to be traveling to Atlanta.”
The Dream are not in danger of having an empty arena because it is the WNBA Finals, and they are playing against the Valkyries. So far, no positive news has come out of Atlanta.
Where can the Dream host their home games?
The Atlanta Dream have two open options at the moment to host their Finals games. They have Gas South Arena, which is about 30 miles from Atlanta. If they do, it would be the first time since 2013 (when they were swept by Maya Moore’s Minnesota Lynx) that they would host their WNBA Finals game at the arena.
Gas South Arena is available for Atlanta’s first and second home games. However, there is no clarity on whether the Dream contacted them to enquire about the venue. The arena can host 13,000 fans, which matches the Dream’s demand based on their semifinals attendance.
Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion could be their second option. While it can only seat 10,000 fans, per The Athletic, it is still better than Gateway Park. McCamish Pavilion was home to the Dream in 2017 and 2018, and all of the three Finals scheduled in Atlanta can be hosted. However, there is no sign of the Dream actively enquiring about the place. As per a Georgia Tech spokesperson, the Dream hadn’t reached out to the programme for the venue.
The Dream can’t play at State Farm Arena, or their home court, and that is not a good sign for them. Wherever they play, at Georgia Tech or Gas South, they won’t have the home-court advantage like the Valkyries would have at “Ballhalla.” Chase Center can host over 18,000 fans, and they have had the highest attendance of any franchise this season.
The Dream would have to play against a great team and in front of a merciless fanbase, and at home, the home court could be miles away. The management should have taken care of the disadvantage. Atlanta has been swept in all of their Finals appearances, and let’s hope it’s not the fourth time.