Atlanta Dream owners have become the latest voices to express frustration with how Game 6 of the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries will play out.
“Playing a noon game on a Thursday is not what we would have chosen or what we fought for,” read a joint letter from Dream owners Larry Gottesdiener, Robyn Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair and Renee Montgomery that the organization sent to fans and media Tuesday.
While the Valks have been able to return to the Sanctuary of Ballhalla for every home game in this series thus far, the Dream have not played a single game in their home arena throughout the Finals. It’s not as bad as it seems. The Dream got an upgrade for their on-court stands, playing in the more than 17,000-seat State Farm Arena — where their NBA counterpart, the Atlanta Hawks, play — instead of their typical 3,500-seat home in College Park, Georgia.
However, the trade-offs for this arrangement will weigh on Game 6, a game where the Valks could win the championship, as they lead 3-2 in the series. One case has already occurred. Much like Game 4, Game 6 will be played on a strict schedule that requires both teams, their staff and media members to leave the building to make way for an NBA game later in the evening. On Thursday, the Hawks are scheduled to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a regular season game. The second is that the announcement is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. local time, or 9:30 a.m. for the majority of Valkyries fans in the Bay Area.
The move was almost universally criticized – although it’s worth noting that the players themselves didn’t complain – and Dream owners joined the fray. In a letter sent to season ticket holders and members of the local media, the owners said they have contacted the league about this potential scheduling issue with time on their hands.
“Two months ago, when the WNBA finalized the dates and times for the playoffs, we raised concerns that the W Finals schedule conflicted with NBA games at State Farm Arena,” the letter read. “As we progressed through the playoffs, we reiterated these concerns. Our concerns were not given the attention or urgency they deserved.
“Maybe we thought the Dream wouldn’t go that far. Maybe our place in the final wasn’t taken into account.”
The letter goes on to thank the Hawks for allowing the Dream to use State Farm Arena, but clearly expresses criticism of the league without any explicit thanks to the WNBA. If there’s a silver lining to this for Atlanta, it’s that the Dream don’t have to worry about the potential indignity of having a championship celebration moved to an ignominious location, which the Valkyries could potentially encounter if they win on Thursday. A Dream win on Thursday would send the series to a winner-take-all seventh game in San Francisco on Saturday, which would also ensure that players from either team would hoist a trophy on a real field.
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