Atlanta Dream Pass Buck To WNBA On Lunchtime Finals Game 6 While Ticket Prices Plummet

This article was written by Mark J. Burns and published on Sport & State, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.
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Don’t come for the Atlanta Dream with your pitchforks and targeted complaints in the WNBA’s recent scheduling fiasco.

Save those for outgoing Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, whose leadership can only be described as a cross between ineptitude and incompetence where she’s failed to protect women’s sports, market the league’s most valuable stars like Caitlin Clark, and enforce protocols for the National Anthem, among other issues.

The latest public relations nightmare is the cherry on top of Engelbert’s forgettable seven-year tenure.

In an open letter intended to Dream fans, team ownership decided to pass all blame to league officials for the disaster, which has put the franchise’s Game 6 of the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries during lunchtime Thursday at State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks. The Valkyries lead the Dream 3-2.

“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,” wrote owners Larry and Robyn Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and Renee Montgomery. “As we moved through the playoffs, we reiterated those concerns. Our concerns did not receive the attention, nor the urgency that they deserved.”

They continued in the statement, “Perhaps it was assumed that the Dream would not make it this far. Perhaps, our place in the finals was not accounted for.”

The Atlanta Dream ownership group has released a statement regarding the matinee time change for Game 6, in part saying “playing a midday game on a Thursday is not what we would have chosen and not what we fought for.”

The letter says they raised scheduling concerns to the league two months ago.

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) October 28, 2026

Ownership didn’t specifically highlight Engelbert or any other league official. Instead, the group collectively passed the buck entirely to the ‘W’ without taking any ounce of blame or accountability for their own inability to play a potential series-clinching game in primetime.

We’re just supposed to assume this was all the WNBA’s fault?

“The Atlanta Dream has earned the right to be taken seriously,” penned the owners, who made sure to bold the statement for added effect.

At this point, I’m not sure that’s possible when there have now been discussions of a championship celebration possibly being moved to a practice court. Or when Thursday’s game tips off as one team’s fan base is still dropping their kids off at childcare.

Freefalling mode

Prices for the matinee affair have continued to take a nosedive since tickets hit the market, with the cheapest option dropping from around $185 on the secondary market Monday night, according to TicketData, to $35 Wednesday morning. That’s around an 80% decrease.

Apparently, it’s tough for women’s basketball fans to get to State Farm Arena while on their 30-minute lunch break at work.

“Resellers went very hard on this game, almost surprisingly so. I think many were betting on the Dream winning Game 5 and having an opportunity to clinch the championship at home,” said Keith Pagello, Founder of TicketData, to Sport & State.

“At this point, the question is how much further prices might fall. If the get-in drops into the $10-$20 range, I think that starts making headlines for all the wrong reasons, and probably isn’t the finale the WNBA was hoping for after what has otherwise been a historically strong season.”

The Dream and WNBA have only themselves to blame at this point.

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