The Atlanta Dream to play 2019 at renovated State Farm Arena

ATLANTA, GA - MAY 10: Head Coach Nicki Collen of the Atlanta Dream participates in a Habitat for Humanity build on May 10, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kevin Liles/NBAE via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MAY 10: Head Coach Nicki Collen of the Atlanta Dream participates in a Habitat for Humanity build on May 10, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kevin Liles/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Atlanta Dream’s home slate of games will have a much different look and feel in 2019.

Head coach Nicki Collen and her team are ecstatic to be back in the recently renovated State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. McCamish Pavilion on Georgia Tech’s campus was ‘home’ for the Dream the past two seasons.

The arena is currently home to the Atlanta Hawks and underwent a $192.2 million renovation this past October. The return to the court the Dream played on from 2008-2016 can’t come soon enough for obvious reasons.

It’s not necessarily the best look for a professional sports team to be playing on a college campus. But seeing what’s been done to State Farm Arena, it may have been worth it.

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“It features the third-largest center-hung scoreboard in the NBA and most immersive video experience,” the Dream explained in a press release. “New sightlines with 360-degree concourses and new seating and first-of-its-kind in-venue entertainment options with Topgolf Swing Suites, the company’s first permanent amenity in a major sports arena and Killer Mike’s SWAG Shop (a 4-chair barbershop overlooking the court). State Farm Arena will also be the first NBA venue to offer fan-friendly food pricing with 12 popular food and beverage items priced at $5 or less.”

This is huge.

Huge because WNBA fans will get a big-time experience. And for the league to continue to grow, investments like this are necessary to both keep and attract a fanbase across any franchise. If there’s one thing that many sports fans are willing to pay for, it’s an experience. It sounds like State Farm Arena will be a state-of-the-art experience.

It’s exciting that WNBA players, who are often treated as second-class citizens, get to directly be a part of the excitement. My prediction is that an investment of this magnitude will pay extreme dividends for all parties involved. Some of the best athletes in the world in tandem with a top-notch game day experience you can’t get anywhere else? Sign me up.

Forget Jake with State Farm. State Farm Arena has our full and undivided attention.