After a weekend of nonstop frantic discussions and negotiation, Game 6 of the WNBA Finals will be played Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET at 17,000-seat State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Hawks-Cleveland Cavaliers game that night will move to 8:00 p.m. ET to accommodate the doubleheader, just as the Hawks did for Game 4. This allows a potential Game 7 to remain scheduled for Halloween at Chase Center in San Francisco.
All three Finals games in Atlanta have required hurried adjustments to the schedule at State Farm Arena. It took collective efforts from the WNBA, NBA, the Hawks, State Farm Arena, Dream, Valkyries and broadcast partners to figure out the best course of action again.
By moving the game earlier in the day, the WNBA avoided a scenario where a potential championship game was played inside the Dream's home arena, the 3,500-seat Gateway Center.
The other option under strong consideration was moving Game 6 to an open date at State Farm Arena on Friday and Game 7 to an open date at Chase Center on Tuesday, Nov. 3.