Game 6 of the WNBA Finals will be played at a rather inopportune time, but apparently, that won’t stop fans from filling the building.
The Golden State Valkyries have a chance to win their first title on Thursday against the Atlanta Dream, but scheduling conflicts have caused the game to be played at 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The game will be played at 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, hours before the Atlanta Hawks are set to tip off against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 8 p.m.
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Despite the unorthodox start time, the game sold out after tickets went on sale Monday, and it is now a hot ticket on the secondary marketplace.
This is not the first scheduling conflict with the Dream this series — Game 3 was moved from Oct. 22 to Oct. 21 to avoid a concert conflict. Meanwhile, Game 4 was pushed to an afternoon tip-off, though it was this past Saturday to accommodate the Hawks’ home opener against the Houston Rockets that night.
However, despite the changes in Atlanta, ticket sales for the 2026 WNBA Finals are up more than 600% compared with last year’s Finals on StubHub between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury. This season is just the Valkyries’ second in existence, and the Dream are in their first WNBA Finals since 2013, which likely is prompting more demand. The Aces, meanwhile, had been in the final three times in the previous five seasons.
Forty-two percent of sales for games in Atlanta have come from outside Georgia, as well, including buyers across the Southeast, even with the games’ uncertainties.
According to ticketdata, the get-in price is down 59% over the last three days, but it has seen an uptick from $38 to $71 on Thursday morning. The peak get-in price was $189 late Monday evening.
The Dream have been drawing sold-out crowds through these Finals, and as a result, the league has had to maneuver to ensure the most seats are filled in larger arenas.
The Athletic reported the Hawks could’ve moved their Thursday night game to Friday. However, that would have created a Friday-Saturday back-to-back for both NBA teams. And the rescheduled matchup would’ve been on opening night of NBA Cup group play.
Then, there was the option of the Dream playing at their normal home in College Park, though thousands of fans wouldn’t be able to enter the arena due to the lack of seats.
There were other Georgia-area arenas to think about, though, including Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion and the Georgia State Convention Center, per CBS Sports.
Angel Reese, who’s enjoyed a strong Finals performance thus far, did state her wish to stay at State Farm Arena if it could work.
