Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese
Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Add Awful Announcing as a preferred source on Google
Add Awful Announcing as a preferred source on Google
Just four days before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals tips off, the league is altering its schedule so the Atlanta Dream can move their home games to a bigger arena.
The WNBA announced Tuesday that it is moving Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals so the Atlanta Dream can host at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Hawks, rather than at the team’s usual home, Gateway Center Arena, which seats just 3,500.
WNBA Finals Games 3 and 4 to be Played October 21 and October 24 at State Farm Arena https://t.co/M1FuGQjS1m
— WNBA Communications (@WNBAComms) October 13, 2026
Game 3, originally scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, will now be played one day earlier, on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Tip-off will still be at 8 p.m. ET, and the game will still air on USA Network and CNBC and stream on Peacock. Game 4 will remain on Saturday, Oct. 24, but tip-off will shift 2.5 hours earlier, from 3:30 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET. NBC will still air the game, and Peacock will stream it.
To accommodate the Saturday shift, the Atlanta Hawks will also move their regular-season home opener back 30 minutes, with the game now set to tip at 8:30 p.m. ET.
After the Dream clinched a spot in the WNBA Finals, it quickly became clear that they needed to avoid playing their home games at the Gateway Center. Game 3 conflicted with a concert at State Farm Arena, while Game 4 conflicted with the Hawks’ opener. Other alternatives, like hosting games in Gas South Arena in Duluth, about 30 miles outside of Atlanta, were considered. Gas South Arena can hold over 13,000 fans and hosted last season’s ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. But ultimately, the WNBA was able to shift the schedule around to allow the Dream to host games in downtown Atlanta.
The league’s broadcast partners also made the shift possible, and both presumably needed to sign off on the change. USA Network would have aired re-runs of the drama 9-1-1 on Wednesday night, so it was not much of a sacrifice. NBC, however, will be forced to preempt a Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea on Saturday, originally scheduled to lead into Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.
If necessary, Game 6 of the series would also be played in Atlanta on Thursday, Oct. 29. State Farm Arena is scheduled to host a Hawks home game that night, meaning the WNBA could be left scrambling to rearrange its schedule again if the series goes that far.