Game 6 of the WNBA Finals between the Dream and Valkyries on Thursday at State Farm Arena “is a sellout despite its much-criticized” 12:30pm ET tipoff. There were “concerns the early tipoff would have the teams playing the potentially decisive Finals game in a half-empty arena because of fans having work and school obligations.” Instead, the sellout “means another Atlanta turnout of approximately 17,000 is expected for the third time in the series” (AP, 10/28).
The get-in price for Game 6 is “substantially lower than the Game 4 matinee hosted on Saturday at State Farm Arena.” Fans “could get into Game 6 for $38 as of Wednesday morning,” according to a spokesperson for TicketIQ.com. That’s 85% lower than the get-in price for Game 4, which started at $246. A “potential Halloween Game 7 on Saturday evening at Chase Center” has get-in prices listed at $359, according to TicketIQ.com (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/28).
Earlier this week, the teams, the league and Versant executives “began throwing out solutions” for what to do about Game 6. Sources said “many different ones were considered, including moving the Hawks game to a different time, keeping the game at Gateway and playing a Game 6 in front of 3,500 people, moving Game 6 to Wednesday, Friday, Saturday or even next week at State Farm, or finding another local arena for the game.” But “all options involving shifting the day had problems.” Sources said there was “even discussion of moving the Hawks game to another month,” but “given the density of the NBA schedule, too many other teams’ schedules would also need to shift for this to be feasible.” Both teams and their players “did not want to play at Gateway, given the importance of the game.” Sources said Versant “initially favored keeping the game at Gateway to maximize primetime viewership” (CNBC Sport, 10/29).
The potential championship matchup “will be re-aired on USA Network and CNBC” at 8pm ET on Thursday. This “was the original scheduled broadcast window” before the game was moved. It will air on USA Network, E! and SYFY. Game 6’s early tipoff “isn’t likely to draw any historic viewership numbers, but the primetime rerun might help” (USA TODAY, 10/28).