WNBA

A Concert Moved WNBA Finals Game 3. Here's Why That's Good News.

A Concert Moved WNBA Finals Game 3. Here's Why That's Good News.

The Dream's usual gym holds 3,500 people, so Atlanta reshuffled concerts and Hawks games to give the Finals a real stage.

The Dream's usual gym holds 3,500 people, so Atlanta reshuffled concerts and Hawks games to give the Finals a real stage.

Photo: Sami TÜRK / Pexels

Planning a big party is hard. Planning one when your venue is booked for a pop concert is harder. Ask the Atlanta Dream.

The Dream's regular home, Gateway Center Arena, holds just 3,500 fans, ESPN reported. That's tiny for the WNBA Finals. So Atlanta moved Games 3 and 4 to State Farm Arena, home of the NBA's Hawks, which seats more than 17,000.

The catch: State Farm already had a Sombr concert on Oct. 22 and Hawks games on Oct. 24 and 29. So Game 3 moved up a day to Wednesday, Oct. 21. The Hawks even pushed back their Oct. 24 tipoff so the Dream could play Game 4 that afternoon. Golden State had its own clash: a Doja Cat concert scheduled for Game 2 night at Chase Center got moved to Oct. 25.

Valkyries owner Joe Lacob said he pushed for the change, because 18,000 fans in San Francisco and 3,500 in Atlanta "would not be too good," he told the AP.

It'll be the first Finals game in Atlanta since 2013. Game 3 is Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT; Game 4 is Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. MT.