State Farm Arena
What was the home venue of Atlanta Dream from 2008 to 2016?
Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream is an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta , Georgia , playing in the Eastern Conference in the Womens National Basketball Association ( WNBA ) . The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season . The team is owned by real estate investors Larry Gottesdiener , Suzanne Abair and former Dream player Renee Montgomery . Although the Dream share the Atlanta market with the National Basketball Associations Hawks , the Dream is not affiliated with its NBA counterpart . The Dream play at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park , Georgia . The Dream has qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in nine of its 12 years in Atlanta and has reached the WNBA Finals three times . The franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as University of Louisville standouts Angel McCoughtry and Shoni Schimmel , former Finals MVP Betty Lennox , and Brazilian sharpshooter Izi Castro Marques . In 2010 , the Dream went to the WNBA Finals but fell short to Seattle . They lost to the Minnesota Lynx in the 2011 and 2013 WNBA Finals . Franchise history . Even before the success of the United States womens basketball team in the 1996 Olympic Games , the American Basketball League had interest in placing a womens professional basketball team in Atlanta as early as 1995 . Eight of the twelve Olympians played on ABL teams when the league began play in October 1996 . The Atlanta Glory played at Forbes Arena and lasted two seasons before folding before the start of the 1998–99 season , which would be the ABLs final . Atlanta had been mentioned as a possible future city for WNBA expansion , but efforts did not come together until the beginning of 2007 when an organizing committee with Atlanta businessmen and politicians began the effort to attract an expansion team . The inability of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA to draw crowds was a concern of the WNBA , and the committee kicked off an effort in February 2007 to gain volunteers and petition signatures . Philips Arena ( now State Farm Arena ) , the Gwinnett Arena ( now Infinite Energy Arena ) and Alexander Memorial Coliseum ( now McCamish Pavilion ) were candidates for venues . By May 2007 , the committee had over 1,000 pledges for season tickets , although the goal was 8,000 season tickets in ninety days . By July the committee had 1,200 commitments and began searching for an owner . On October 16 , 2007 , it was reported that Ron Terwilliger , an Atlanta businessman and CEO of a national real estate company would be the future owner of an Atlanta franchise . The next day , at a news conference at Atlantas Centennial Olympic Park , WNBA president Donna Orender made the announcement that Atlanta would officially be granted a WNBA expansion franchise . On November 27 , 2007 , Atlanta named Marynell Meadors , a coach with extensive experience at the college level , the first head coach and general manager in franchise history . This was Meadors second role as a coach/general manager in the WNBA following a stint with the Charlotte Sting . Afterwards , Meadors had served as a scouting director for the Miami Sol and had been an assistant coach under Richie Adubato and Tree Rollins for the Washington Mystics . Former NBA player Dennis Rodman volunteered his name as head coach for the Dream . Terwilliger declined , stating that he wanted someone with more coaching experience and he felt that the head coach should be a woman , as the WNBA was a womens league . On December 5 , 2007 , an online contest was announced for people to vote on the team name and team colors , while the final choice rested with owner Ron Terwilliger . The names offered as choices were Dream , Flight , Surge and Sizzle . There were also options for team colors such as lime green or hot pink . On January 23 , 2008 , the team name was announced as the Dream , inspired by the famous speech of Atlanta native Martin Luther King Jr. , and the team colors were sky blue , red , and white . Atlanta held their expansion draft on February 6 , 2008 when they selected one player from each of the 13 teams in the league . Atlanta traded Roneeka Hodges and their number four pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft to the Seattle Storm for Izi Castro Marques and Seattles eighth pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft . Also , the Dream traded the 18th pick and LaToya Thomas to the Detroit Shock for Ivory Latta . From May 17 , 2008 , with a season opening loss against the Connecticut Sun to July 3 , 2008 , with a home loss against the Houston Comets , the Dream lost 17 consecutive games , setting the WNBA all-time record for both consecutive losses and losses from opening day . The 2006 Chicago Sky had previously lost 13 consecutive games , and the 2002 Detroit Shock had opened their season 0–13 . On July 5 , the Dream earned their first win in Atlanta 91–84 against the Chicago Sky , ending the losing streak . They later finished with a 4–30 record . Not wanting a repeat of 2008 , head coach and general manager Marynell Meadors acquired players such as Sancho Lyttle , Nikki Teasley , Chamique Holdsclaw , Angel McCoughtry , and Michelle Snow in the 2008–2009 offseason . In 2009 , Atlanta reached the playoffs at 18–16 , exceeding their previous record by 14 wins , but lost in the first round to the 2008 champion Detroit Shock in a sweep . After the season , their coach , Marynell Meadors , was awarded the Coach of the Year Award . The Dreams owner , Ron Terwilliger , announced in August that he wanted to give up his position as the primary owner of the Atlanta franchise . On October 29 , 2009 , Kathy Betty took control of the team under the business entity Dream Too , LLC . The 2010 season saw further improvement , finishing in fourth place in the Eastern Conference . The Dream then made it through the first two rounds of the playoffs and secured a trip to the WNBA Finals with a win over the New York Liberty , as they swept New York in two games in the Eastern Conference Finals . They eventually faced the best team in the league , the 28–6 Seattle Storm . Seattle took the first two games at home with two close wins . Seattle completed the sweep and won the series in Atlanta . Even though they were swept , the Dream did not lose any game by a margin of more than three points . Addressing arguably Atlantas biggest concern , the team traded for All-Star point guard Lindsey Harding prior to the 2011 season . Despite the addition , the Dream struggled to open the season , starting with a 2–7 record due to an injury that sidelined Angel McCoughtry and overseas commitments by Sancho Lyttle . The team then went on a run of 14 wins and 5 losses after the All-Star break . They carried that momentum into the playoffs , sweeping the Connecticut Sun and defeating the Indiana Fever to return to the WNBA Finals . However , they lost to the 27–7 Minnesota Lynx in three games . During the 2011 season , Betty sold Dream Too LLC to local investors Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffler . The Dream started the 2012 season with a 12–12 record and fired head coach and general manager Meadors during a dispute with league-leading scorer Angel McCoughtry . Meadors was replaced by Fred Williams , finished with a 19–15 record , and lost in the first round . The following 2013 season , the team again made it to the WNBA Finals , and again were swept by the Lynx . Williams contract was not renewed . Michael Cooper was then hired for the 2014 season . He led the team to the playoffs in 2014 and 2016 , but was fired after failing to make the playoffs in 2017 . On October 18 , 2019 , the Dream unveiled an updated logo and color scheme , the first change to their branding since the teams inception in 2008 . Shortly after the George Floyd protests began , the WNBA and players union decided to put Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name slogans on warmup gear and opening weekend uniforms . By then , team owner Kelly Loeffler was a Republican U.S . Senator , and she criticized the leagues support for Black Lives Matter . At the next game , Dream players wore black T-shirts with the slogan VOTE WARNOCK , endorsing her election opponent Raphael Warnock , an African-American pastor who then defeated Loeffler . The players union then demanded that Loeffler sell her stake in the team . A three-member investor group , including former Atlanta Dream guard Renee Montgomery , were approved to purchase the team in February 2021 . Home arena . The Dream played at Philips Arena , now known as State Farm Arena , in downtown Atlanta , shared with the Atlanta Hawks from 2008 to 2016 . In 2013 , the team qualified for the WNBA Finals , but a scheduling conflict forced them to play home games at The Arena at Gwinnett Center , now known as Infinite Energy Arena , in suburban Duluth . Due to renovations to Philips Arena during the Hawks 2017 and 2018 offseasons , the Dream played home games at McCamish Pavilion on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology . The team returned to the renovated and renamed State Farm Arena for the 2019 season . Following the conclusion of the 2019 WNBA regular season , team officials indicated that the Dream would not be returning to State Farm Arena for the 2020 season , citing disagreements with the Hawks management . The team announced on October 18 , 2019 , coinciding with their rebranding , they would move to the new Gateway Center Arena in nearby College Park for the 2020 season ( later delayed to the 2021 season ) , sharing the arena with the Hawks NBA G League affiliate , the College Park Skyhawks . Players . Former players . - Izi Castro Marques ( 2008–2011 ) - Érika de Souza ( 2008–2015 ) - Katie Feenstra-Mattera ( 2008 ) - Lindsey Harding ( 2011–2012 ) - Chamique Holdsclaw ( 2009 ) - Ivory Latta ( 2008–2009 ) - Shalee Lehning ( 2009–2011 ) , later an assistant coach at Kansas State and Northern Colorado - Betty Lennox ( 2008 ) - Camille Little ( 2008 ) , now an assistant coach for the Dallas Wings - Sancho Lyttle ( 2009-2017 ) - Kristen Mann ( 2008 ) - Angel McCoughtry ( 2009-2019 ) , now a member of the Las Vegas Aces . - Coco Miller ( 2009–2011 ) - DeLisha Milton-Jones ( 2014–2015 ) , now the head coach at Old Dominion - Shoni Schimmel ( 2014–2015 ) - Michelle Snow ( 2009 ) - Nikki Teasley ( 2008 ) Coaches and staff . Owners . - Ron Terwilliger ( 2008–2009 ) - Kathy Betty ( 2010 ) - Dream Too LLC , composed of Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffler ( 2011–2021 ) - Larry Gottesdiener , Suzanne Abair , and Renee Montgomery ( 2021-present ) Executives . - President & COO - Bill Bolen ( 2008- 2009 ) - Co-owner & CEO - Kathy Betty ( 2010-2011 ) - CEO – Peter J . Canalichio ( 2012 ) - CEO - Ashley Preisinger ( 2012-2014 ) - President & CEO - Theresa Wenzel ( 2014–2016 ) - President & General Manager - Chris Sienko ( 2017–2021 ) General managers . - Marynell Meadors ( 2008–2012 ) - Fred Williams ( 2012–2013 ) - Angela Taylor ( 2014–2016 ) - Chris Sienko ( 2017–2021 ) Assistant coaches . - Katy Steding ( 2008 ) - Fred Williams ( 2008–2012 ) - Sue Panek ( 2008–2011 ) - Carol Ross ( 2009–2011 ) - Joe Ciampi ( 2012–2013 ) - Julie Plank ( 2013 ) - Karleen Thompson ( 2013–2017 ) - Teresa Edwards ( 2014 ) - Tellis Frank ( 2015 ) - Miles Cooper ( 2016–2017 ) - Mike Petersen ( 2017–2020 ) - Darius Taylor ( 2017–present ) Media coverage . Currently , some Dream games are broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast ( FS-SE ) and FOX Sports South ( FS-S ) . All games ( excluding blackout games , which are available on ESPN3.com ) are broadcast to the WNBA LiveAccess game feeds on the league website . Furthermore , some Dream games are broadcast nationally on ESPN , ESPN2 and ABC . The WNBA has reached an eight-year agreement with ESPN , which will pay right fees to the Dream , as well as other teams in the league . All-time notes . Regular season attendance . - A sellout for a basketball game at State Farm Arena has differed slightly throughout its history : - 18,729 from 2008 to 2011 - 18,371 in 2012 - 18,238 in 2013 - 18,118 in 2014 - 18,047 in 2015 and 2016 - 16,600 in 2019 - A sellout for a basketball game at McCamish Pavilion has been 8,600 since 2012 , before the Dream temporarily moved in for 2017 and 2018 . Draft picks . - 2008 Expansion Draft : Carla Thomas , Érika de Souza , Katie Feenstra , Roneeka Hodges , Ann Strother , LaToya Thomas , Kristen Mann , Ann Wauters , Jennifer Lacy , Kristin Haynie , Chantelle Anderson , Betty Lennox , Yelena Leuchanka - 2008 : Tamera Young ( 8 ) , Morenike Atunrase ( 24 ) , Danielle Hood ( 32 ) - 2009 Houston Dispersal Draft : Sancho Lyttle ( 1 ) - 2009 : Angel McCoughtry ( 1 ) , Shalee Lehning ( 25 ) , Jessica Morrow ( 27 ) - 2010 Sacramento Dispersal Draft : selection waived - 2010 : Chanel Mokango ( 9 ) , Brigitte Ardossi ( 21 ) , Brittainey Raven ( 33 ) - 2011 : TaShia Phillips ( 8 ) , Rachel Jarry ( 18 ) , Kelsey Bolte ( 32 ) - 2012 : Tiffany Hayes ( 14 ) , Isabelle Yacoubou ( 32 , ineligible ) - 2013 : Alex Bentley ( 13 ) , Anne Marie Armstrong ( 31 ) - 2014 : Shoni Schimmel ( 8 ) , Inga Orekhova ( 18 ) , Cassie Harberts ( 20 ) - 2015 : Samantha Logic ( 10 ) , Ariel Massengale ( 29 ) , Lauren Okafor ( 34 ) - 2016 : Bria Holmes ( 9 ) , Rachel Hollivay ( 13 ) , Courtney Walker ( 16 ) , Niya Johnson ( 28 ) - 2017 : Brittney Sykes ( 7 ) , Jordan Reynolds ( 19 ) , Oderah Chidom ( 31 ) - 2018 : Monique Billings ( 15 ) , Kristy Wallace ( 16 ) , Mackenzie Engram ( 27 ) - 2019 : Brianna Turner ( 11 ) , Maite Cazorla ( 23 ) , Li Yueru ( 35 ) - 2020 : Chennedy Carter ( 4 ) , Brittany Brewer ( 17 ) , Mikayla Pivec ( 25 ) , Kobi Thornton ( 27 ) - 2021 : Aari McDonald ( 3 ) , Raquel Carrera ( 15 ) , Lindsey Pulliam ( 27 ) Trades . - February 6 , 2008 : The Dream traded LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft to the Detroit Shock in exchange for Ivory Latta . - February 6 , 2008 : The Dream traded the fourth pick in the 2008 WNBA draft and Roneeka Hodges to the Seattle Storm for Izi Castro Marques and the eighth pick in the draft . - February 6 , 2008 : The Dream acquired the 24th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft from the Indiana Fever in exchange for agreeing not to select specific unprotected Fever players in the expansion draft . - April 9 , 2008 : The Dream traded Ann Wauters , draft rights to Morenike Atunrase , and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft to the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for Camille Little , draft rights to Chioma Nnamaka , and a first-round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft . - June 22 , 2008 : The Dream traded Camille Little to the Seattle Storm in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft . - July 4 , 2008 : The Dream traded Kristen Mann to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Alison Bales . - December 17 , 2008 : The Dream traded the 13th pick in the 2009 WNBA draft to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for the rights to Chamique Holdsclaw . - January 21 , 2009 : The Dream traded Alison Bales to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the 18th pick in the 2009 Draft . - April 9 , 2009 : The Dream traded the 18th pick in the 2009 WNBA draft to the Detroit Shock in exchange for Ashley Shields . - August 12 , 2009 : The Dream traded Tamera Young to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Armintie Price . - March 11 , 2010 : The Dream traded Michelle Snow to the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for Dalma Ivanyi and the right to swap second-round picks in the 2010 Draft . - April 11 , 2011 : The Dream traded Rachel Jarry and second-round pick in 2012 WNBA draft to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Felicia Chester . - April 11 , 2011 : The Dream traded TaShia Phillips , Kelly Miller and first-round pick in 2012 WNBA draft to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Lindsey Harding and second-round pick in 2012 Draft . - February 19 , 2013 : The Dream traded the 7th and 19th pick in the 2013 WNBA draft to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Jasmine Thomas and second-round pick in 2013 Draft . - March 12 , 2014 : The Dream traded Alex Bentley and the 32nd pick in the 2014 WNBA draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Matee Ajavon and the 18th pick in the 2014 Draft from the Washington Mystics . - May 7 , 2014 : The Dream traded Courtney Clements to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Swin Cash . - July 9 , 2014 : The Dream traded Swin Cash to the New York Liberty in exchange for DeLisha Milton-Jones . - April 16 , 2015 : The Dream traded Jasmine Thomas to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Brittany Hrynko . - July 27 , 2015 : The Dream traded Érika de Souza to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Damiris Dantas , Reshanda Gray , and a first-round pick in 2016 Draft from the Minnesota Lynx . Minnesota received Sylvia Fowles and a second-round pick in 2016 WNBA draft from Chicago as part of this trade . - February 3 , 2016 : The Dream traded the 4th pick in the 2016 Draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Elizabeth Williams . - May 2 , 2016 : The Dream traded Shoni Schimmel to the New York Liberty in exchange for second-round pick in 2017 Draft . - January 26 , 2017 : The Dream traded Reshanda Gray to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Aneika Henry-Morello . - April 12 , 2018 : The Dream receive 15th pick in 2018 WNBA draft and a second round pick in 2019 WNBA draft in exchange for Bria Holmes . - July 9 , 2018 : The Dream receive Alex Bentley in exchange for Layshia Clarendon and a second round pick in 2019 WNBA draft . - May 16 , 2019 : The Dream receive Dallas third round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft in exchange for Imani McGee-Stafford . - February 10 , 2020 : The Dream traded Brittney Sykes and Marie Gülich to Los Angeles in exchange for Kalani Brown . - February 19 , 2020 : The Dream traded Jessica Breland and Nia Coffey to Phoenix as part of a three-way trade with Connecticut in exchange for Courtney Williams and the 17th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft . All-Stars . - 2008 : No All-Star Game - 2009 : Érika de Souza , Sancho Lyttle - 2010 : Izi Castro Marques , Sancho Lyttle , Angel McCoughtry - 2011 : Angel McCoughtry - 2012 : No All-Star Game - 2013 : Angel McCoughtry , Érika de Souza - 2014 : Angel McCoughtry , Érika de Souza , Shoni Schimmel - 2015 : Angel McCoughtry , Shoni Schimmel - 2016 : No All-Star Game - 2017 : Layshia Clarendon , Tiffany Hayes , Elizabeth Williams - 2018 : Angel McCoughtry - 2019 : None Selected - 2020 : No All-Star Game Olympians . - 2012 : Angel McCoughtry , Érika de Souza ( BRA ) - 2016 : Angel McCoughtry Honors and awards . - 2009 Rookie of the Year : Angel McCoughtry - 2009 Coach of the Year : Marynell Meadors - 2009 All-Defensive Second Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2009 All-Rookie Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2010 All-WNBA First Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2010 All-Defensive First Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2010 All-Defensive Second Team : Sancho Lyttle - 2011 All-WNBA First Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2011 All-Defensive First Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2011 All-Defensive Second Team : Sancho Lyttle and Armintie Price - 2012 Peak Performer ( Points ) : Angel McCoughtry - 2012 All-Defensive First Team : Sancho Lyttle - 2012 All-Defensive Second Team : Armintie Price - 2012 All-Rookie Team : Tiffany Hayes - 2013 All-WNBA Second Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2013 All-Defensive First Team : Angel McCoughtry and Armintie Price - 2013 All-Rookie Team : Alex Bentley - 2014 WNBA All-Star Game MVP : Shoni Schimmel - 2014 All-Defensive First Team : Angel McCoughtry and Sancho Lyttle - 2014 All-WNBA Second Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2015 All-Defensive First Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2015 All-Defensive Second Team : Sancho Lyttle - 2015 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award : DeLisha Milton-Jones - 2015 All-WNBA First Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2016 Most Improved Player : Elizabeth Williams - 2016 All-Defensive First Team : Angel McCoughtry - 2017 All-Rookie Team : Brittney Sykes - 2018 Coach of the Year : Nicki Collen - 2018 Executive of the Year : Chris Sienko - 2018 All-Defensive First Team : Jessica Breland - 2018 All-Defensive Second Team : Tiffany Hayes - 2020 Most Improved Player : Betnijah Laney - 2020 All-Rookie Team : Chennedy Carter - 2020 All-Defensive First Team : Betnijah Laney , Elizabeth Williams External links . - Article announcing new franchise - Atlanta names Meadors Head coach/ General manager - Atlanta announces Team Name - Atlantas expansion draft results