After the Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 67-62 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday in Atlanta's State Farm Arena, tying the best-of-seven series at 2-2, one question was answered and another far more important question was raised.
There will definitively be a Game 6 in Atlanta. But nobody knows yet where or even when the game will be played despite a furious round of negotiations spilling into Sunday between the WNBA, NBA, Valkyries, Dream and Atlanta Hawks, sources told ESPN.
The Dream -- whose home venue of Gateway Center Arena has a capacity of approximately 3,500 -- have played all five home playoff games at the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, home to and operated by the Hawks. Coordination between the leagues, teams and multiple media partners resulted in Games 3 and 4 of the Finals getting moved to State Farm Arena. Game 3 was shifted up a day, from Thursday to Wednesday, while the Hawks agreed to hold a double-header with the Dream and moved tip time of Saturday evening's home opener back 30 minutes.
But with the Hawks hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers at State Farm the night of Game 6, as well as other scheduling complications, the situation is more complex than what the leagues dealt with earlier in the series and could have millions of dollars of impact on both leagues.
"We continue to explore all options," a WNBA spokesperson told ESPN.
A Dream spokesperson said Sunday, "We are waiting to hear from the league if any changes can be made to allow us to play in State Farm Arena. If not, the game will be played in Gateway Center Arena."
Multiple sources believe it's a real possibility that Game 6 will indeed be held on Thursday as scheduled at Gateway Center Arena in College Park.
"There are problems with all the solutions," one source close to the situation said.
Sources told ESPN that the NBA has been working with the Hawks and Cavaliers to determine if Thursday's game could be switched to an alternate date - or even to Cleveland. While some stakeholders feel the onus should be on the NBA to move their regular season games so that WNBA Finals games can be prioritized, there's been pushback from others that the domino effects of moving that game are too complicated.
Thursday's Hawks-Cavs game is already a back-to-back for both teams: The Hawks host the Miami Heat at State Farm on Wednesday, while the Cavs have a home game on Oct. 28 prior to traveling to Atlanta. Moving Thursday's game to Cleveland is a radical idea that's been discussed, sources said, but it would create a home-road back to back for the Hawks in addition to the logistical nightmare of scheduling a new home game in Cleveland with just a few days' notice.
After the Oct. 29 Hawks game, Cleveland is also supposed to play Oct. 31 in Milwaukee, which could also be hosting Games 6 and 7 of the World Series. An additional wrinkle is that Fridays are NBA Cup exclusive games, but Hawks-Cavs is a non-Cup game.
State Farm Arena has open dates on Oct. 27 -- the day after Golden State hosts Game 5 -- and Oct. 30. One proposal would move Game 6 of the WNBA Finals to Friday, Oct. 30 and Game 7, if necessary, from Saturday, Oct. 31 at Chase Center to Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The WNBA would support that proposal, but only if both teams agree to it, sources said.
The Valkyries have raised concerns about moving two WNBA Finals games and the three off days that proposal would create in between Games 5 and 6 as well as between Games 6 and 7, sources said.
"We're proud to be part of such a compelling Finals and love seeing the growth of the game," a Valkyries spokesperson said in a statement. "We fully support what's best for the league and will stand behind whatever it decides."
Playing a Game 7 on Nov. 3 would also conflict with a recent NBA policy of not holding games on Election Day, although sources said that does not currently appear to be a strong concern.
Availability at Chase Center is also not abundant. The Golden State Warriors -- whose ownership group also owns the Valkyries -- currently have home games scheduled against the LA Clippers on Sunday, Nov. 1 and Phoenix Suns on Monday, Nov. 2.
While they don't share an ownership group with the Dream, the Hawks have expressed a desire to help facilitate the WNBA Finals in their arena, as they did for Games 3 and 4, sources said. The Dream will be a full-time tenant at State Farm Arena beginning in 2027, the team announced earlier this month, which should make holding playoff dates in the future more seamless.
There has been discussion about moving Thursday's game to a matinee, like Game 4 was, sources said. The Hawks have been open to facilitating another doubleheader at State Farm Arena, but other sources said the league believes the idea of a weekday matinee for a Finals game would not be as desirable compared to a weekend matinee.
Other Atlanta-area alternate arenas -- such as Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion or Gas South Arena in Duluth -- aren't viewed as ideal since they would feel like road games for both teams.
Both games in Atlanta sold out quickly once the games were moved to State Farm Arena. Fans wanting to purchase tickets for Game 6 have been told to wait for a resolution to the scheduling conflicts, sources said.
While it is not uncommon for WNBA playoff games to be moved to alternate sites because of arena commitments to NBA games or other events, sources on all sides of this situation expressed frustration that these issues hadn't been resolved prior to Saturday.
"This should've been solved weeks ago, and definitely at the same time Games 3 and 4 were solved," one source said.
Said another: "The fact we are making these decisions so we can play a WNBA game at a larger arena is the best news of all... it just has to be scheduled better in advance. Moving games is much harder now than it would have been a week ago."