Why is the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Title Game being moved? Lynx-Liberty clash to be hosted in UBS Arena 

The WNBA Commissioner's Cup title game between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty on June 25 will be played in a new location after the original venue was rendered unavailable.

Initially penciled in to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the Commissioner's Cup finals will now be played at the UBS Arena in Elmont to give way to the 2024 NBA Draft happening on June 26 and 27.

The decision was made after it was reckoned that there was no way the Barclays Center, home of the Liberty, would be ready for the NBA Draft the next night after the WNBA Commissioner's Cup title game.

In a report that came out in The Associated Press, the possible conflict in schedule was already identified as early as December.

A proposal to have the game played on July 2 was put forth but the Lynx turned it down while a plan to have the title moved to Minnesota instead was denied by the Liberty.

Another suggestion to have the game rescheduled to June 24 was also rendered impossible as New York has a back-to-back schedule on June 22 and 23.

The UBS Arena is the home of the NHL's New York Islanders and hosts various events. It has a 17,000 seating capacity, similar to the Barclays Center.

While they lament the late change in venue, the Liberty are grateful to their fans for their continued support and to UBS Arena for accommodating them.

"We are excited for the opportunity to defend our Commissioner's Cup title in New York and we appreciate our fans' unwavering support of our team," Liberty CEO Keia Clarke said in a statement.

New York is the defending WNBA Commissioner's Cup champion and made its way back to the title game after going 5-0 in Cup games. Minnesota, meanwhile, compiled a 4-1 record.

What is the WNBA Commissioner's Cup?

The WNBA Commissioner's Cup is a yearly in-season tournament that started in 2021 to provide an added dimension to the league year.

In the tournament, all the teams are competing for a $500,000 cash prize pool. On top of that, cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase is donating $120,000 in cryptocurrency with $5,000 guaranteed going to players competing in the title game.

For this season's iteration of the tournament, the format was altered to have the teams play five total Commissioner's Cup games. The league scheduled matches played from June 1 to 13 as the qualifiers with the results counted as part of the team's win-loss record for the season.

When the battle smoke in the qualifiers cleared, it was the New York Liberty (5-0) and the Minnesota Lynx (4-1) who emerged on top and are to battle it out in the title game on June 25 at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.

The Seattle Storm were the first winners of the WNBA Commissioner's Cup in 2021, followed by the Las Vegas Aces in 2022 and the Liberty last season.