By: Reagan McLean
On Oct.9, 2026, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, the Atlanta Dream, punched their ticket to the finals for the first time since 2013. Though this was an exciting moment, fans are angry with Atlanta’s National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise, the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks posted a flyer showing players from both teams posing together. At the same time, it was revealed that Atlanta’s State Farm Arena will not host games three and four of the WNBA Finals in light of a concert by musician Sombr, along with NBA preseason games.
Fans disagree with the arena’s decision, arguing that the focus should be on letting the Dream use State Farm Arena over the Hawks since their season is coming to a close.
After a nail-biting game in the semi-finals against the New York Liberty, the Dream made a clean sweep and secured their seat in the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries. The Hawks posted a flyer with Dream players Angel Reese, Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard alongside NBA players Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
The caption of the post read “DREAM ON…TO THE WNBA FINALS.” Many fans were outraged by this. A fan called out the franchise and commented, “Don’t include Hawk’s players in the Dream accomplishment after how y’all ended last season. Learn from them and strive for a chip. It’s been 58 years since y’all have been ringless in Atlanta.”
The Hawks were eliminated in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs and have not won an NBA championship since 1958.
While fans were upset with the Hawks’ social media team, another problem arose: what arena would the Dream use to host Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA finals?
With Sombr’s concert being held at State Farm Arena on Oct. 22, and the NBA opening game for the Hawks vs. the Houston Rockets on Oct. 24, this would affect the Dream since Games 3 and 4 were originally set to be hosted at State Farm Arena on those dates, plus the possibility of Game 6 if necessary.
The alternative plan at the time was to use Gateway Center Arena in College Park. The Dream did use Gateway Center for some regular-season games this year; however, one problem: Gateway Center holds only 3,500 fans. State Farm holds 17,000.
The WNBA and the Dream were seeking out other options such as Gas South Arena (seats 13,000) and Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion (seats 8,600), but according to USA TODAY, “those efforts also hit a roadblock”.
Former ESPN analyst Linda Cohn shared her opinion on the WNBA and the Dream scrambling to find an arena for the finals.
“But suppose we wake up tomorrow and there is an announcement […] We found an arena that seats 8,000 or 13,000. Well, that would be great news, but my next question would be, why did it take until the last minute to discover this?” Cohn shared.
The answer to Cohn’s statement stems from one main clause: separate ownership.
The Dream and the Hawks are owned by separate people. In 2021, the Dream was sold to an investor group that included Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and Renee Montgomery, a former Dream player who became the first player in WNBA history to own a team. The Hawks have 12 owners, but Anthony “Tony” Ressler serves as the primary owner and chairman.
Before the Dream had the green light to use State Farm Arena for the full season, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert would notify State Farm of arena usage during the regular season and once a team clinches the playoffs.
With the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) deal being negotiated, this season was questionable earlier this year.
Another factor is that no one anticipated the Dream would reach the finals because they were seen as underdogs. Now, with the Dream’s primary home arena being State Farm for the 2027 season, they are seen as tenants until then.
When an NBA and WNBA team are under the same owners, negotiations are much smoother. An example is this year’s final. The Valkyries and Golden State Warriors are under the same owners, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.
Both teams share the same arena, Chase Center. Singer and Rapper Doja Cat was supposed to perform at Chase Center on Oct. 19; however, with the Valkyries hosting Game 2 of the finals, the concert date shifted to Oct. 25.
Another example of smooth date adjustments is shown in the 2024 WNBA finals. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx are owned by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. During the Lynx’s final appearance against the Liberty, the Timberwolves had a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets shifted to Oct.17, 2024, so the Lynx could host Game 4 the next day.
Therefore, when the same people who own an NBA team acquire a WNBA team, it is much easier to negotiate a workaround date since the team is seen as a resident team in that arena.
In the end, the WNBA and Atlanta Dream worked something out. On Oct.14, the Dream and the Hawks published a joint statement on Instagram, sharing that Games 3 and 4 of the Finals will be hosted at State Farm Arena and tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 AM.
With the Dream entering a multi-year agreement with State Farm to host its home games starting in 2027, playoff scheduling should not be a problem.
The next priority for the Dream is focusing on Game 1 of the Finals taking place at Chase Center on Oct.17. When fans saw the possibility of the Dream not being able to secure State Farm for Games 3 and 4, this reignited the flame of a conversation going on among fans in the league for the longest: game scheduling.
With the WNBA season expanding to 50 regular games next season, whoever takes over as the new WNBA commissioner can learn from this season and space out games so not only can players get a well-rested break in between games, but there wouldn’t be any conflict of interest with concerts or games from other leagues taking place.