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The New York Liberty will play the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game against the Minnesota Lynx June 25 at UBS Arena in Long Island, rather than their usual home court at the Barclays Center. The relocation is due to a scheduling conflict with the NBA Draft, which will take place at the Barclays Center June 26. The league announced the venue change Monday.
“With the scheduling of the NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 26, the NBA created an unavoidable conflict for use of the building,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said, as reported by Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press. “We are working closely with the New York Liberty on this one-game relocation to UBS Arena and to provide the best possible experience for attendees and participants at the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship. We apologize for any inconvenience to the Liberty’s season ticket holders and loyal fans.”
Scheduling conflicts and Liberty’s proposed solutions
The Liberty anticipated the potential NBA Draft conflict as early as December and informed the league. When the Liberty clinched home court earlier this month, they proposed playing their regular-season game against the Lynx July 2 at Barclays Center as the Commissioner’s Cup championship. The Liberty’s proposal was aimed at alleviating the tight schedule by combining the two games, but the Lynx declined the option. The Liberty have play back-to-back on June 22 and June 23, so the game cannot be moved up.
“It’s not the day of the Commissioner’s Cup,’’ Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “The July 2 game is a regular-season game. The Commissioner’s Cup is June 25, and all parties have known that for a while.”
Additionally, the league offered the Liberty the option of playing the game in Minnesota, but the Liberty declined.
New York still playing in front of a home crowd at UBS Arena
UBS Arena, primarily used for hockey as the home of the New York Islanders, will host the championship game. Since its opening in 2021, it has also hosted a few college basketball games. Both UBS Arena and Barclays Center have a capacity of about 17,000. The Liberty, second in the league in attendance with an average of 12,586 fans, will still have the advantage of playing in front of a home crowd, albeit in a different venue.
“We are excited for the opportunity to defend our Commissioner’s Cup title in New York, and we appreciate our fans’ unwavering support of our team,” New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke said. “While we wish we could have brought this game to our fans in our home arena, we are grateful to UBS Arena for accommodating us and providing a world-class venue in New York.”
This is the fourth year of the Commissioner’s Cup, and New York is the defending champion. The teams will compete for a $500,000 cash prize pool. Additionally, the sponsor Coinbase has committed another $120,000 in cryptocurrency, with $5,000 guaranteed for each player participating in the final.
There is also a charity component. New York raised $15,000 for Women Creating Change, while Minnesota earned $13,000 for Gender Justice. The winning team on June 25 will receive an additional $10,000 donation, and the runner-up will get $5,000.
