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Dream move Finals to State Farm

Sports · Heat 7.3 / 10 · 10 shows · 1h 15m airtime

On October 13, league sources said the Atlanta Dream would play WNBA Finals Games 3 and 4 at State Farm Arena, pushing the Hawks' home opener to 8:30. Three days later, the Dream were reported to be moving permanently into State Farm Arena next year. Game 6 had no venue as of October 26, with the Dream searching for an alternative to their 3,500-seat arena. By October 27, Game 6 was set for Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at State Farm Arena, with the Hawks-Cavaliers game moved to 8 p.m.; the WNBA said there is not enough time at night for a championship celebration. The game will air on the Sci-Fi Network.

How 10 podcasts covered it

  1. The Dan Le Batard Show, 2026-10-13 (13:29 to 14:20)
    Breaks the Finals venue move mid-show
    Breaks the venue news mid-show: the Dream's Finals home games move to State Farm Arena, with Game 3 on Wednesday the 21st at 8 p.m. and Game 4 Saturday the 24th at 1 p.m., and the Hawks' opener pushed to 8:30.
    New angle: The Dream will play Finals Games 3 and 4 at State Farm Arena, pushing the Hawks' home opener to 8:30.
  2. The Dan Le Batard Show, 2026-10-16 (30:10 to 32:22)
    Frames the venue switch as a needed fix
    Smetana frames the venue switch as a resolution the league needed, contrasting the Dream's 3,500-seat building with Golden State's 17,000 to 18,000, and adds that Atlanta moves into State Farm Arena permanently next year. She also notes Game 7 would fall on Halloween.
    New angle: The Dream are moving permanently into State Farm Arena next year.
  3. The Dan Le Batard Show, 2026-10-23 (4:44 to 9:41)
    Frames the move as the WNBA's best home court
    David Dennis Jr. recounts Game 3 at State Farm Arena as the loudest he has heard the building, and frames the permanent move from the 3,500-seat arena as giving the Dream the WNBA's best home court. Reaction and atmosphere, not a new development.
  4. The Right Time with Bomani Jones, 2026-10-26 (38:35 to 46:22)
    Reports Game 6 still has no venue
    Turns to the next scheduling squeeze: Game 6 has no venue yet, and the Dream are still hunting for a building. Frames it as success rather than incompetence, with the College Park arena, the Hawks' back-to-back and a Ramona Shelburne quote as the evidence.
    New angle: Game 6 of the WNBA Finals still has no venue, with the Dream searching for an alternative to their 3,500-seat arena.
  5. Nightcap, 2026-10-27 (47:22 to 53:24)
    Reports Game 6 landing at State Farm Arena
    Reports the resolution of the venue search: Game 6 lands at State Farm Arena on Thursday at 12:30 p.m., with the Hawks-Cavaliers game pushed to 8 p.m. so a potential Game 7 can stay on Halloween at Chase Center. The rest is argument about the midday start and the Dream outgrowing 3,500 seats.
    New angle: Game 6 is set for Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at State Farm Arena, with the Hawks-Cavaliers game moved to 8 p.m.
  6. The Ringer WNBA Show, 2026-10-27 (53:39 to 55:31)
    Sets up the scheduling failure segment
    Opens the scheduling segment by restating the 12:30 p.m. Eastern tip and framing it as a logistics failure against the league's growth, then hands off to Ramona Shelburne. Setup for the interview, not new ground.
  7. The Ringer WNBA Show, 2026-10-27 (55:33 to 59:37)
    Explains why Friday would push Game 7
    Shelburne walks through the options the league weighed before landing on the 12:30 p.m. Game 6: a Friday game would have pushed Game 7 to Tuesday because Chase Center is booked for Warriors games Sunday and Monday. She says the issue was raised when Games 3 and 4 times were adjusted and never settled.
    New angle: Moving Game 6 to Friday would have pushed Game 7 to Tuesday, since Chase Center is booked Sunday and Monday.
  8. The Ringer WNBA Show, 2026-10-27 (59:55 to 1:03:40)
    Breaks down the blame for late scheduling
    Shelburne walks through the blame pie for the last-minute Game 6 scheduling: separate Dream and Hawks ownership, a Hawks front office that tried, a Cavaliers team willing to move, and an NBA that stepped in late. She reports the push to move the Hawks-Cavs game to Friday would likely have worked had it started weeks earlier.
    New angle: The Hawks-Cavs game could likely have moved to Friday had the issue been raised a couple weeks earlier.
  9. The Ringer WNBA Show, 2026-10-27 (1:03:32 to 1:06:00)
    Details the last-minute logistics of the move
    Shelburne walks through why moving the Hawks-Cavs game was so hard at the last minute - tickets, arena staffing, hotels, film rooms, an Amazon Prime broadcast - and lands on the same point already on the record: it was raised too late.
  10. The Ringer WNBA Show, 2026-10-27 (1:06:00 to 1:09:22)
    Criticizes the league's reactive scheduling
    Criticism of the league's reactive scheduling, arguing Engelbert should have had contingency plans during the eight-day break. Stays inside the venue story already on the record, adding opinion rather than a new development.
  11. First Take, 2026-10-27 (30:38 to 33:20)
    Criticizes the league's planning with Shelburne's report
    Runs through the Game 6 schedule fix again - the 12:30 p.m. tip, the Hawks-Cavaliers move to 8 p.m. - and spends the rest of the segment on criticism of the league's planning, citing Shelburne's reporting that the NBA could have accommodated with a week's notice.
  12. The Dan Le Batard Show, 2026-10-27 (45:12 to 47:32)
    Rips the 12:30 p.m. Finals start
    Rips the league for putting a potential Finals clincher at 12:30 p.m. Eastern on a weekday, arguing the commissioner's office should have planned around arena bookings and the CBA. Reaction and opinion on the schedule squeeze, not a new development in it.
  13. The Dan Patrick Show, 2026-10-27 (0:04 to 4:55)
    Recaps the arena scramble between other stories
    Recaps the Game 6 arena scramble between other stories: the 12:30 p.m. tip, the 3,500-seat Gateway Center passed over for a 17,000-seat building, and the Hawks game waiting behind it. Stays inside the schedule story, with a Shelburne line already on the record.
  14. The Dan Patrick Show, 2026-10-27 (3:29 to 6:14)
    Recaps the Game 6 venue scramble
    Recaps the Game 6 venue scramble - the 12:30 p.m. start, the 3,500-seat Gateway Center versus a 17,000-seat building, the Hawks game that night - and adds a Ramona Shelburne line about the celebration possibly moving to a practice court. Stays inside the scheduling story.
  15. The Pat McAfee Show, 2026-10-27 (3:01:04 to 3:05:55)
    Rips the 12:30 p.m. Game 6 slot
    Rips the 12:30 p.m. Game 6 slot and the league's explanation that there is not enough time at night for a championship celebration, arguing a title should get more than a practice gym. The scheduling facts are already on the record; the league's stated reason is not.
    New angle: The WNBA said there is not enough time at night for a championship celebration.
  16. The Bill Simmons Podcast, 2026-10-27 (0:44 to 3:58)
    Rants about the 12:30 tip in Atlanta
    Opens with a rant about Game 6 tipping at 12:30 p.m. Eastern in Atlanta, mocking the simulcast and calling it a new low for the league. It retells the scheduling mess already on the record and adds only opinion.
  17. The Herd with Colin Cowherd, 2026-10-28 (4:59 to 8:24)
    Adds Game 6 on Sci-Fi at 12:30
    Rips the Finals scheduling again, adding that Game 6 will air on the Sci-Fi Network at 12:30 p.m. and that a Valkyries title would have to be awarded on the practice court before the Hawks game. Then pivots to the Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum beef.
    New angle: Game 6 will air on the Sci-Fi Network at 12:30 p.m.
  18. Pardon My Take, 2026-10-28 (53:48 to 59:32)
    Recaps the Game 6 scheduling mess
    Recaps the Game 6 scheduling mess - the 12:30 p.m. Thursday tip, the Hawks game later that night, the Valkyries' 9:30 a.m. body clock - and wonders why a college gym wasn't an option. Stays inside the week's coverage, with a detour into 1980s locker-room trophy ceremonies.
  19. The Ringer WNBA Show, 2026-10-30 (30:29 to 33:30)
    Frames the arena fiasco as a growth problem
    Auriemma and Sohi discuss the arena fiasco as a growth problem: Atlanta and New York built rosters before facilities, and the Dream likely did not anticipate the demand. Auriemma declines to assign blame. Reaction and framing, no new development.
  20. The Dan Le Batard Show, 2026-10-30 (12:24 to 17:39)
    Recaps Game 6 from the arena angle
    Recaps Game 6 from the arena angle: the rushed practice-court trophy plan had Golden State won, the sold-out State Farm crowd, and the Dream's 3,000-seat home as the root of the scheduling mess. Stays inside the week's coverage.
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