Atlanta Dream To Hold Opener In Bigger Arena And It's DEFINITELY Not Because They're Playing Caitlin Clark

Last season was a big one for the WNBA with Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark joining the league, and while not everyone in the league was exactly appreciative of the impact she has had, there was no denying that it was very much a "rising tide raises all ships situation."

Clark's involvement led to more eyeballs and butts in seats.

So many, in fact that a couple of games were moved to bigger arenas to accommodate the increased demand.

But that's definitely not why the Atlanta Dream will hold its home opener in the larger State Farm Center.

The Dream typically plays their games at the Gateway Center Areba at College Park, which holds only about 3,500 when configured to hoops.

With Clark in town, you can sell a lot more tickets than that, so it would make sense to move the game to a much bigger arena, so the State Farm Center — home to the Atlanta Hawks (and formerly the Atlanta Thrashers; RIP) will do the trick, with a basketball capacity of well over 16,000.

But according to the team's owner, that's not why the game is being moved.

"We have invested significant resources and energy into making Gateway Center Arena the most unique home-court experience in the WNBA," said Dream Majority Owner Larry Gottesdiener, per WSB-TV. "However, due to a scheduling conflict at Gateway, we saw an opportunity to bring this exciting early-season matchup to State Farm Arena, allowing even more fans to experience it. We appreciate the hospitality."

Well, then that might be the most convenient scheduling conflict in the history of the league.

It's also worth noting that there's not currently anything listed on the arena's website for May 22.

I'm inclined to take their word for it, but it wouldn't be the first time Clark's importance to the league has been downplayed, and that was something social media users were all too happy to bring up.

Well, whatever the case, I'm sure that arena is going to be pretty packed.