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Phillips Arena Renovations Forced Dream’s Move

Atlanta Dream

The Atlanta Dream are moving out of Phillips Arena for the next two seasons, and it seems that renovations forced that decision.

The Dream are expected to spend at least the 2017 and 2018 seasons at McCamish Pavilion, a venue on the campus of Georgia Tech. The WNBA’s season takes place over the summer, allowing minimal conflicts with NBA teams that play out of the facility, which is the case with the Dream and Hawks.

Right now, $200-$300 million in renovations are slated for Phillips Arena. In order to avoid a scenario in which construction takes place over the Hawks season, work will take place over the summer. Obviously that affected the Dream, forcing an alternative venue. More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The WNBA’s Dream announced Monday night that they will play all home playoff games this season and the entire 2017 and 2018 seasons at McCamish Pavilion because Philips Arena “will not be available.”

Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this year that the Hawks playing games away from Philips Arena while much-needed renovations are done to the facility simply is not an option. The major construction would begin in the summer of 2017 for completion in 2018, without any interruption of the Hawks’ season, for the 50th anniversary of the team’s move to Atlanta. The Hawks moved to Atlanta from St. Louis in 1968.

Atlanta is not the only city where this conflict is playing out. The Minnesota Lynx will play next summer at the Xcel Energy Center while renovations take place at the Target Center.

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