Dream owners say the league ignored their warnings before the 12:30 p.m. Game 6

Atlanta Dream ownership went public Tuesday with its frustration over Thursday's 12:30 p.m. ET start for Game 6 of the WNBA Finals, saying in an open letter to the city that it warned about the venue problem two months ago and was not heard.

"Playing a midday game on a Thursday is not what we would have chosen and not what we fought for," the letter said, according to Front Office Sports.

The game had been scheduled for 8 p.m. It moved up when it was moved to State Farm Arena, the Hawks' home, which seats about 17,000. The Dream's regular home, Gateway Center, holds 3,500. The Hawks' game against Cleveland that night was pushed back an hour to 8 p.m. to make room, and their game this past Saturday moved to 8:30 p.m. for Game 4.

The Dream said in the letter that they raised concerns about playoff dates overlapping with NBA games at the arena two months ago and kept raising them as the playoffs went on. "Our concerns did not receive the attention, nor the urgency that they deserved," the letter said, according to ESPN. Sources told ESPN's Alexa Philippou that the league sent the 2026 playoff dates to teams internally on Dec. 4, 2025.

"As much as we have great affection and nostalgia for Gateway Center 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," the letter said. "That meant State Farm Arena."

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert's statement Monday called the move a way to give "thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line," and she thanked the NBA, both teams, the Hawks, the arena and USA Network.

The tipoff is 9:30 a.m. in California. Valkyries players Kiah Stokes and Veronica Burton told Bay Area fans to call in sick. The Dream players said the time doesn't matter. "We are locked in on winning Game 6 whether it's 8 a.m., 10 p.m., midnight," Allisha Gray said. "We got a championship to win."

Golden State leads the series 3-2 and can clinch Thursday.