Craig Carton harshly criticized the WNBA during Monday’s episode of “The Craig Carton Show.” He focused on the scheduling and venue issues faced by the Atlanta Dream during the WNBA Finals.
State Farm Arena executives booked other events over potential Finals dates. This forced championship games into a smaller venue. Carton accused the WNBA of inaction as these events unfolded.
“The WNBA Finals, when it goes to Atlanta for the two or three games, will not be playing in the State Farm Arena,” Carton stated.
Carton highlighted the fact that the arena’s owners had to choose between saving dates for the Dream’s potential games or booking events that draw more people. They opted for the latter.
“The first event that’ll replace the Atlanta basketball game is a performer I’ve never heard of, his name is SOMBR,” Carton remarked. “Raise your hand if you’ve heard of SOMBR. I haven’t.”
The arena will host SOMBR’s concert, which Carton claimed would attract slightly more people than the Dream games would have.
Noting the shuffling of events due to two Hawks games and an indie concert, Carton criticized the WNBA’s inability to keep control. “A single phone call could have cleared the floor,” he said, reflecting on the NBA’s ownership of the league.
As a result, the finals were moved to Gateway Center Arena which holds only 3,500 people. Carton believed they would likely sell out the smaller arena.
He pointed out that the WNBA’s focus on narrative over star promotion cost them viewership and venue space. Carton argued that popular players like Caitlin Clark or Sophie Cunningham bring attention, and their absence impacts viewership.
Game 1 of the WNBA Finals took place on Saturday, Oct. 17.
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