The WNBA has finally settled where and when a potential championship-clinching Game 6 will be played, and the answer has drawn sharp criticism. The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries will meet at State Farm Arena at 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 29, the league announced just hours before Game 5 tipped off Monday night at Chase Center with the series tied 2-2, CBS Sports reported.
The early start is because the arena is hosting a regular-season Hawks game against the Cavaliers that evening, which has been pushed from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. so the building can be turned over. That means a title celebration, if one happens, would have to be cut short to make way for the NBA court. According to ESPN, shifting any on-court celebration to a practice facility has been discussed.
How it got here
The Dream's regular home, Gateway Center, seats about 3,500 and is the smallest arena in the league. With Angel Reese's arrival boosting interest, the team played five regular-season games and its first two playoff rounds at the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, which becomes its permanent home next year. But the start of the NBA season complicated the Finals: Game 3 was moved up a day to avoid a Sombr concert, and Game 4 was shifted to 1 p.m. ET for the Hawks' home opener. Both sold out.
Valkyries owner Joe Lacob had commented publicly on the earlier moves, and the league and both franchises were reluctant to stage the Finals in the cramped Gateway Center, according to CBS Sports.
The criticism
CBS Sports was blunt in its assessment, arguing the league waited far too long and then made the worst available choice, noting that Valkyries fans would be watching over breakfast on a workday. It said Dream ownership underestimated demand, the WNBA failed to require contingency plans, and the league should have kept Game 6 at Gateway Center in its original 8 p.m. slot with watch parties for fans.
The timing stings in a season that began with a new collective bargaining agreement and is ending with two of the league's best stories, Reese's emergence with the Dream and the expansion Valkyries' rise, battling in a thrilling series.
Reporting sources: CBS Sports Headlines, “WNBA Finals' Game 6 scheduling debacle is an embarrassing end to a historic season”.