TRENDING Drew Rasmussen starting Game 5 NFL trade deadline proposals WNBA Finals schedule fiasco Anthony Edwards injury impact Week 8 fantasy trade tips Story by Story by WNBA Finals ticket for under $40? Game 6 matinee turns into a fire sale A cluster of Golden State Valkyries fans in the stands before Game 4 of the WNBA Finals between Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries on Saturday at State Farm Arena. (Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle) Shayna Rubin Wed, October 28, 2026 at 11:33 PM UTC About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The WNBA Finals Game 6 time change from primetime to lunchtime is having a direct impact on ticket prices.
The Atlanta Dream announced on Wednesday morning that State Farm Arena sold out its 17,000 capacity arena for the 12:30 p.m. ET tipoff on Thursday, but the get-in price to see the Golden State Valkyries' potential championship clincher - and the Dream's attempt to stop them - 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.
The circumstances aren't ideal for fans who want to watch the WNBA's premier event. The game tips off midday on a weekday, while most are at work or at school. Further, anyone interested in watching the highest-stakes game yet had short notice to alter their Thursday plans.
The WNBA and Dream didn't secure State Farm Arena until Monday morning, a few hours before Game 5, giving fans three days to buy their tickets. The league had to move tipoff from 8 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET to accommodate an Atlanta Hawks game on Thursday. That means the Valkyries could be hoisting the championship trophy while West Coast fans are enjoying brunch.
The alternative would have been a primetime tipoff at Gateway Center Arena at College Park, the Dream's home court for a majority of the 2026 season that seats up to 3,500.
The Dream are moving into State Farm Arena full time next season, but the arena is owned by the county and operated by the Hawks. The start of the NBA regular season overlaps with the WNBA Finals, forcing last-minute preparations to move Games 3, 4 and 6 into the bigger arena more suitable for the Finals stage.
A potential Game 7 on Halloween Saturday evening at Chase Center has get-in prices listed at $359, according to TicketIQ.com .
The time change should impact the broadcast partners' revenue, too. The game will be broadcast on USA Network, a basic cable channel, and streaming site Peacock.
"The daytime window isn't perfect from a TV audience perspective," a USA Sports spokesperson said. "But the league had to make a really difficult decision taking a lot into account across multiple stakeholders. What was important to us was to ultimately be a good partner and to be part of the solution."
Golden State's 67-62 win in Atlanta was the most-watched Game 4 in WNBA Finals history, according to NBC, with 1.9 million viewers on average (32% higher than last year) and 2.5 million at its peak. San Francisco led the market viewership with a 3.97 rating.
An encore of Game 6 will air on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on USA Network and CNBC - when the game originally would have been played.
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This article originally published at WNBA Finals ticket for under $40? Game 6 matinee turns into a fire sale .
Source: Sports
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