The WNBA Finals still doesn't know where Game 6 will be played, and it might be a 3,500-seat arena

The WNBA Finals are tied 2-2, Game 5 is tonight, and nobody can say for sure where Game 6 will be played.

The Dream played all five of their home playoff games, including Finals Games 3 and 4, at the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena. Games 3 and 4 sold out. But the Atlanta Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers there Thursday, the night Game 6 is scheduled, and talks among the WNBA, the NBA, both teams and the Hawks ran into Sunday without a fix, ESPN reported.

"We are waiting to hear from the league if any changes can be made to allow us to play in State Farm Arena," a Dream spokesperson said. "If not, the game will be played in Gateway Center Arena." Gateway Center, the Dream's regular home in College Park, seats about 3,500.

A WNBA spokesperson said the league continues "to explore all options." ESPN laid out what's on the table, and every option has a catch:

• Move Hawks-Cavaliers. It's already a back-to-back for both teams, and the NBA has resisted the domino effect. Moving it to Cleveland was discussed, which would hand the Hawks a home-road back-to-back on a few days' notice.
• Move Game 6 to Friday, when State Farm Arena is open, and push a possible Game 7 from Saturday, Oct. 31, at Chase Center to Tuesday, Nov. 3. The WNBA would back it only if both teams agree, and the Valkyries have raised concerns about three off days between Games 5 and 6 and again before Game 7. Nov. 3 is also Election Day, when a recent NBA policy says no games, though sources told ESPN that isn't a strong concern.
• Play Thursday afternoon in a doubleheader at State Farm. The Hawks are open to it, but the league sees a weekday matinee as less appealing than the weekend one it used for Game 4.

Other Atlanta-area arenas, such as Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion and Gas South Arena, would feel like road games for both teams. Fans trying to buy Game 6 tickets have been told to wait.

One source put it this way to ESPN: "This should've been solved weeks ago." It's hard to argue. The WNBA title could be decided in a gym that holds a fifth of the crowd that watched Games 3 and 4, because an October regular-season NBA game got the date first. The Dream become full-time tenants at State Farm Arena in 2027, which should make this easier in future seasons.

Game 5 tips at 8 p.m. ET tonight at Chase Center in San Francisco on USA Network and CNBC.