Dream run a test of their fan base, and the results are encouraging

No one – not even team executives – knew what would happen when they picked out a weeknight game against an expansion team as one of the five home games that they were moving from Gateway Center Arena (capacity: 4,000, the smallest in the league) in College Park to State Farm Arena (17,044) downtown.

But that was the point.

Announced before the season, four of the five games made sense. Two were against the Indiana Fever and Clark, the biggest draw in the league. The other two were against the powerhouse Aces and the Chicago Sky, the latter of which at the time was still fronted by star Angel Reese before her trade to the Dream.

All teams and names that could significantly boost ticket sales.

But the one against the Toronto Tempo, a new team with no household names, that one stuck out.

It was purposefully so.

“We’ve talked about our desire to build a long-term home and to have a long-term home that will be for our Atlanta Dream fans,” team president and chief operating officer Morgan Shaw Parker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before Monday’s game. “And this is a way for us to really test that out and understand the market a little better. Because you can’t just understand if you’re only bringing in one (visiting) team to play (in State Farm).”

The new understanding exceeded expectations. The original plan was to only open the lower bowl, about 8,800 seats.

“But we sold more tickets,” Shaw Parker said.

The team opened up parts of the upper deck. Ticket prices ranged from $17 to $450. Announced attendance was 9,685.

“It’s been really special to see the fans come out of the woodwork,” Shaw Parker said. “And we keep growing and growing and growing.”

The energy level was high. Fans filled the building with shrieks, lifting the Dream to a 94-87 win to improve their record to 12-4, tied for second best in the league.

For someone less accustomed to Dream games, the ever-popular “Ref, you suck!” chant lands differently when the accusations sound like they’re being lobbed by a chorus of 12-year-old girls.

“The energy was very great from the beginning to the end,” Dream center Madina Okot said after the game. “I really appreciate the fans for showing up every time for us.”

The 9,685 figure can be interpreted in different ways. After Sunday’s games, the league attendance average was 11,211, according to data available on the women’s basketball website Across the Timeline.

But the game was played on a night that can be tough to sell tickets, against a nondescript opponent, two nights after Clark came through town and helped draw 17,044.

Whatever it was, it was a sign to Shaw Parker that things are going in the right direction, part of the franchise’s larger aims.

“It gives us an opportunity for our organization to really flex up and to say, ‘OK, what would it take for us to build a W-specific arena?’” she said.

The team has been steadfast in saying that it will have to eventually move out of Gateway Center because of its limited capacity and that potential options such as the Georgia State Convocation Center or Gas South Arena in Gwinnett County are not the answers.

It may be years away, but the Dream want a place of their own.

Momentum is building. Fans have responded to coach Karl Smesko’s team, which improved by 15 wins to 30-14 last year in his first season and has championship aspirations with the addition of Reese. The team is full of likable players such as Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard.

The season-ticket base has been capped at 1,850 and the waiting list is expected to grow to 3,000 by season’s end. The team has since added a sixth game for State Farm and a seventh is a possibility.

Even for Shaw Parker, it’s difficult to know what the end product will look like.

But the picture became clearer Monday night.

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