The Golden State Valkyries went into Atlanta for two WNBA Finals games and got a split by knocking off the Dream 67-62 on Saturday. Now, with this best-of-seven series tied at two, the biggest question from before the series has returned: where, exactly, will Game 6 be played?
The Dream have called Gateway Center Arena in College Park home for the last six seasons, which only has a capacity of around 3,500. But the Dream have moved every playoff game this year to the much larger State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta, an arena operated by the NBA's Hawks that holds a little more than 17,000.
Once the WNBA Finals matchup was set, it wasn't clear where the league was going to hold the three games in Atlanta. The WNBA set the Finals schedule months in advance with national television partners, and State Farm Arena had conflicts for the dates of Games 3, 4 and 6. But on Oct. 13, the WNBA announced that Games 3 and 4, the two guaranteed-to-be-played games in Atlanta, would be moved in order to get them played in State Farm Arena.
Left unsaid, though, was what would happen if the series went to the sixth game, which is currently scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 28. The league still hasn't answered that question by Saturday's tip time, but a Hawks executive has taken people inside the negotiations.
Atlanta Hawks chief operating officer Steve Koonin went on 92.9 The Game, Atlanta's sports talk radio station on WZGC-FM, on the "Dukes and Bell" show on Friday and was asked about Game 6 and gave a rather ominous quote.
"To be 100% clear, the decision is the league's. We do not have a decision," Koonin said. "We have made multiple dates available. I am hoping Dream in five, I am praying Dream in five, I am walking around with my legs, fingers, toes crossed for Dream in five. But that's a league decision. It's very hard to move NBA games.
"So write your local congressman and commissioner that we play. Because they need to be in a major - this is high-level basketball - to be in a professional building."
Koonin said Game 6 going to the much smaller Gateway Center Arena "might be unavoidable" because of the complex scheduling issues, particularly because the Hawks are scheduled to face the Cavaliers that night.
"You can't go move a Cleveland game without affecting 10 other games. It's dominoes," Koonin said. "I'm hopeful, but we're having lots of discussions and telling the league what's going on in Atlanta. The Dream are top of mind, people are excited - they blew the roof off. I hope the Dream are inside [State Farm Arena], and if not, we're going to fight like hell for them to be in our building. We've made dates available to the league."
When asked if the Valkyries would have to sign off of a schedule change again, Koonin replied, "We all play when we're told."
This week in Atlanta, Game 3 was held on Wednesday, one day earlier than it was previously scheduled to be played. And Saturday's Game 4 was moved up by 2.5 hours to make it part of a doubleheader at State Farm Arena. The Dream game was played at 1 p.m. local time in Atlanta, with the Hawks' home opener later that night pushed back by half-an-hour to 8:30 p.m. Eastern to ease the transition from one team to the other. Koonin celebrated how both games were sold out in the interview on 92.9 The Game.
Earlier in the call, Koonin was discussing the "amazing" crowd the Dream drew at Game 3 and expressed his hope for Atlanta to win on Saturday. Koonin was clearly hoping the Dream would win on Saturday and wrap up the series in San Francisco on Monday to make all of the arena discussions a moot point for Game 6.
Unfortunately for Koonin, though, the Valkyries played their best game of the series on Saturday, racing ahead to a double-digit lead in the second quarter and keeping any Dream runs contained in the second half.
The series will continue in San Francisco on Monday with Game 5 on Monday, with tipoff scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific. Game 6 is now guaranteed to be played and is currently scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern in Atlanta.
More Valkyries
- See the raucous 'Ballhalla' crowd of Valkyries fans at Game 2 of WNBA Finals
- Conservative media can't stop complaining about Valkyries, Dream skipping anthem
- Kaitlyn Chen is the Valkyries' 'goofy' secret weapon
- The Valkyries tripled down on a hotly-debated hoops strategy. It worked.
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This article originally published at Valkyries win might put WNBA in 'unavoidable' arena issue for Finals Game 6.