Not to be upstaged by the New York Liberty’s news of its move to Barclays Center, but the southeast’s resident WNBA team had some arena news of its own.
The Dream’s Twitter account teased news since the end of the regular season about a pair of announcements that would be coming down the pike soon. This prompted much debate over what those announcements would be.
Then, the Dream gave everyone a date of Oct. 18 for when those announcements would be made. In a Friday press conference attended by a number of Dream luminaries – including owners Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffler, general manager Chris Sienko and head coach Nicki Collen – the Dream made the announcement that its new home court would be Gateway Center Arena.
Jessica Breland and Alaina Coates were on hand as well.
Hello, south ATL
Hello, @GatewayArena
👉 https://t.co/hkLQa5ChrX pic.twitter.com/xP9Md3suVf
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 18, 2019
Gateway Center Arena is part of the Gateway Center in College Park. It includes the Georgia International Convention Center and is adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – the world’s busiest. It is also the same 3,500-seat venue that will be the home court of the College Park Skyhawks – the G-League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks.
The move is already being compared to when the Washington Mystics relocated from Capital One Arena in the heart of D.C. to the DC Entertainment and Sports Arena in its Congress Heights neighborhood. The Mystics’ new venue seats just under 5,000 and is also the home court of the Capital City Go Go, the G-League affiliate of the Washington Wizards.
The move provided a more intimate atmosphere for the Mystics who won the 2019 WNBA championship.
Said move was to be expected if the Dream would not be returning to State Farm Arena for the 2020 season. The move that went unexpected was the unveiling of new logos.
At the convergence of grit and grace, of perseverance and new beginnings.
The Atlanta Dream.
» https://t.co/19NFTjHTZV#OneCityOneDream pic.twitter.com/piI5QcroWM
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 18, 2019
The Dream’s new insignia, according to a press release pays homage to Atlanta’s rise as a global city after being destroyed in the Civil War. The shooting star ties the Dream’s new logo to its original insignia.
The new logo also emphasizes gray and red more with a blue star being emphasized as an accent color.
Atlanta Dream FC … pic.twitter.com/rrheOFuLw4
— Erica L. Ayala (@elindsay08) October 18, 2019
A common comparison that the Dream’s new look is drawing is to those of the ATL’s robustly successful and popular MLS franchise – Atlanta United FC. Atlanta United won the MLS cup in 2018 and have been a hotter ticket in the city at Mercedes-Benz Stadium than even the Atlanta Falcons.
With the announcement of the new arena and new logo, Dream fans are likely hoping that the team can convince Angel McCoughtry, a free agent, to return to the Big Peach for next season.
Dream fans – We will start taking season ticket deposits for our 2020 season at @GatewayArena next Wednesday at 10am. #OneCityOneDream #Southside pic.twitter.com/tWHH8rwNKc
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 18, 2019
New logo who dis pic.twitter.com/9i6HPuCURU
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 18, 2019
