Following Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut Tuesday night — the most-watched game in the league since 2001 — the Atlanta Dream announced Thursday they will move both home games versus the Fever to State Farm Arena. Home to the Atlanta Hawks, the venue has seated more than 20,000 before. 

The Dream will host the Fever on June 21 and Aug. 26. The move to host larger crowds for when Clark and the Fever come to town has already been made by the Las Vegas Aces, the Washington Mystics and the Los Angeles Sparks. Atlanta’s normal venue is Gateway Center Arena, which seats 3,500 for basketball games. Dream-Fever tickets will go on sale May 22. 

“Atlanta Dream fans are the best in the WNBA,” team president Morgan Shaw Parker said, via the Associated Press. “Their passion and excitement led us to the most sellouts in the league over the last two years and has created a demand for tickets that far outpaces the supply inside our current arena, which is why we wanted to find a way to give more fans access to experience these two games.”

The Dream played at State Farm Arena, previously named Phillips Arena, from when they were founded in 2008 up until 2016. For the 2017 and 2018 seasons, they moved to Georgia Tech’s campus. After the Dream’s brief return to State Farm Arena in 2019, Gateway Center became their home from 2020-on. Atlanta began the season Wednesday at Los Angeles, winning 92-81. 

Caitlin Clark, Fever could draw largest crowd in Atlanta Dream history

The Dream’s largest crowd was 11,609 in their first-ever game versus the Detroit Shock in 2008. The Fever eclipsed 13,000 fans in their preseason win over Atlanta May 9. Clark’s debut at the Connecticut Sun Tuesday in Mohegan Sun Arena was sold out. More than 2 million viewers on average watched. In her final season at Iowa, Clark helped lead to many sellouts in the Big Ten. 

This effect is hardly new. 

Back in April, the Dream became the second WNBA team ever to sell its whole regular-season ticket allotment. Half of their games have been listed as such. To be fair, Atlanta’s venue is the smallest in the league. But the consistent ticket purchases, paired with Indiana’s arrival in June and August, shows promise that the Dream’s 2008 record-crowd could be passed this summer. 

“We are excited to welcome our loyal Dream fan base, along with new fans, to State Farm Arena,” Atlanta coach Tanisha Wright said, via AP. “We want to create the ultimate home court advantage and pack the house with red and blue as we work toward another playoff push this year.”