Atlanta Dream owners say they raised WNBA Finals scheduling conflicts months ago in blistering open letter

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The Atlanta Dream raised concerns about scheduling conflicts between the WNBA Finals and other events at the city’s State Farm Arena months ago, according to a blistering open letter to Atlanta released Tuesday night.

In the letter addressed to the city of Atlanta, the Dream responded to criticism leveled at the team, the WNBA and the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks over scheduling conflicts that have complicated the WNBA Finals. Games 3 and 4 had to be rescheduled – Game 3 was played a day earlier than originally planned and Game 4 tipped off in the early afternoon instead of evening – due to conflicts with a concert and the Hawks’ home opener.

Now that the series is headed to a Game 6, the Dream’s showdown against the Golden State Valkyries will take place at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday at State Farm Arena because the Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers that evening.

The issues were known to the Dream and brought to the league’s attention, but the letter signed by owners Larry and Robyn Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair and Renee Montgomery stated their concerns were largely ignored.

“Two months ago, when the WNBA finalized playoff dates and times, we raised concerns that the W Finals schedule conflicted with NBA games at State Farm Arena,” the letter read. “As we moved through the playoffs, we reiterated those concerns. Our concerns did not receive the attention, nor the urgency that they deserved.”

“Perhaps it was assumed that the Dream would not make it this far. Perhaps, our place in the Finals was not accounted for. Whatever the reason, the reality is that we are here. We earned our place in the Finals, and our city deserves the opportunity to show up for its team.”

The letter added that the 12:30 p.m. ET tip off for Game 6 is “not what we would have chosen and not what we fought for.” The Valkyries hold a 3-2 lead in the Finals and could clinch their first title on Thursday.

CNN has reached out to the WNBA for comment on the letter.

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The Dream, who joined the WNBA as an expansion team in 2008, used State Farm Arena – then known as Philips Arena – for home games from 2008-2016. The Gateway Center Arena, located outside the city in College Park, has served as the team’s full-time home venue for the last six years. The team will move back to State Farm Arena permanently in 2027.

The capacity difference between the two arenas is stark: Gateway Center holds roughly 3,500 fans, whereas State Farm seats more than 17,000.

Not all WNBA franchises in cities with NBA teams share ownership or arena management. That is the case in Atlanta: the Dream franchise is owned separately from the Hawks, who operate State Farm Arena.

The Dream’s owners thanked the Hawks for working to ensure the Finals the games could take place at State Farm Arena.

“We believed that our fans and the city wanted the opportunity to be a part of this historic series, and to see it played on a world-class stage. That meant State Farm Arena,” the letter stated.

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“We are grateful to everyone who helped make that possible, especially our partners - the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena - who stepped up by adjusting their schedule on the fly, not once, but three times. And what a celebration it has been: a party, a concert and incredible Dream basketball all rolled into one.”

The letter added: “That is what Atlanta supporting Atlanta looks like. The Hawks and the Dream are different teams with different histories, but we share a city, a community, and a responsibility to help Atlanta shine on the biggest stages. When one of us has an opportunity to make history, we all want to see it happen.”

While NBA evens often take precedence if there’s a double-bookings occur at shared arenas - such as in 2023, when a Janet Jackson concert was postponed to accomodate a first-round Hawks playoff game against the Boston Celtics – the WNBA has a history of playoff games being displaced due to venue availability across its 30 seasons.

Just last year, the Valkyries – shocking the WNBA world by reaching the playoffs in their inaugural season in 2025 – moved a first-round playoff game more than 40 miles away to SAP Center in San Jose, the home of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, because the Laver Cup tennis tournament was booked at Chase Center.

CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.

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据周二晚间发布的一封措辞激烈的公开信显示，亚特兰大梦想队几个月前就对 WNBA 总决赛与该市州立农场体育馆的其他活动之间的赛程冲突表示担忧。

在致亚特兰大市政府的信中，梦想队回应了外界对球队、WNBA以及NBA亚特兰大老鹰队因赛程冲突而遭受的批评，这些冲突导致WNBA总决赛的赛程安排变得复杂。由于与一场音乐会和老鹰队的主场揭幕战冲突，第三场和第四场比赛不得不重新安排——第三场比赛比原计划提前一天进行，第四场比赛则从傍晚提前到下午早些时候开球。

由于系列赛将进入第六场，梦想队与金州女武神的对决将于美国东部时间周四下午 12:30 在州立农场球馆举行，因为老鹰队当晚将在主场迎战克利夫兰骑士队。

梦想队早就知道这些问题，并已提请联盟注意，但老板拉里·戈特斯迪纳、罗宾·戈特斯迪纳、苏珊娜·阿贝尔和蕾妮·蒙哥马利签署的信中表示，他们的担忧基本上被忽视了。

信中写道：“两个月前，WNBA最终确定季后赛日期和时间时，我们就曾提出WNBA总决赛赛程与NBA在州立农场球馆的比赛冲突的问题。随着季后赛的进行，我们再次重申了这些担忧。但我们的担忧没有得到应有的重视和紧迫感。”

“或许有人认为梦想队走不到这一步。或许有人没有预料到我们会进入总决赛。无论原因如何，事实是我们站在这里。我们凭借实力赢得了总决赛的席位，我们的城市也理应有机会为自己的球队加油助威。”

信中还提到，第六场比赛于美国东部时间下午12:30开球“并非我们所愿，也非我们为之奋斗的目标”。瓦尔基里队目前在总决赛中以3-2领先，有望在周四锁定队史首个冠军。

CNN已联系WNBA，就此事寻求置评。

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梦想队于2008年作为扩充球队加入WNBA，并在2008年至2016年间以州立农场球馆（当时名为菲利普斯球馆）为主场。过去六年，位于纽约市郊大学城的门户中心球馆一直是球队的固定主场。球队将于2027年永久迁回州立农场球馆。

这两个场馆的容量差异非常明显：Gateway Center 大约可容纳 3,500 名观众，而 State Farm 可容纳超过 17,000 名观众。

并非所有与NBA球队位于同一城市的WNBA球队都共享所有权或球馆管理权。亚特兰大的情况就是如此：梦想队的所有权与老鹰队是分开的，老鹰队运营着州立农场球馆。

梦想队的老板们感谢老鹰队为确保总决赛能在州立农场球馆举行所做的努力。

信中写道：“我们相信，我们的球迷和这座城市都渴望有机会参与到这场历史性的系列赛中，并在世界级的舞台上观看比赛。这意味着州立农场体育馆。”

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“我们衷心感谢所有为此付出努力的人，特别是我们的合作伙伴——亚特兰大老鹰队和州立农场球馆——他们临危受命，三次临时调整赛程。这真是一场盛大的庆祝活动：一场派对、一场音乐会，还有一场精彩绝伦的梦想篮球赛，所有这一切都完美融合在一起。”

信中还写道：“这就是亚特兰大人支持亚特兰大人的方式。老鹰队和梦想队是两支不同的球队，有着不同的历史，但我们共享一座城市、一个社区，也肩负着让亚特兰大在最高舞台上闪耀的责任。当我们中的任何一人有机会创造历史时，我们都希望看到它发生。”

如果共用场馆出现重复预订的情况，NBA 赛事通常会优先安排——例如 2023 年，珍妮·杰克逊的演唱会为了配合老鹰队与波士顿凯尔特人队的首轮季后赛而被推迟——但 WNBA 在其 30 个赛季中，季后赛比赛因场地可用性而被改期的情况屡见不鲜。

就在去年，瓦尔基里女篮——在 2025 年的首个赛季就打进了 WNBA 季后赛，震惊了整个 WNBA 世界——将第一轮季后赛移到了 40 多英里外的圣何塞 SAP 中心，也就是 NHL 圣何塞鲨鱼队的主场，因为拉沃尔杯网球赛预定了 Chase Center 的场地。

CNN的吉尔·马丁对本报道亦有贡献。