PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Mercury will finally get to play a playoff game on their home court.
The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers agreed to move up their preseason game Wednesday by a few hours so the Mercury could host the Las Vegas Aces on their home court at the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals.
The Suns and Lakers were initially scheduled to play at 7 p.m. PT, the same time as the Mercury and Aces were scheduled to tip off. Instead, the Suns and Lakers will tip off at 3 p.m. The Mercury and Aces game will remain at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN. It wasn't clear where the Mercury would have played had the Suns-Lakers tip-off not been moved.
The Mercury aren't strangers to having their playoff games relocated from the Footprint Center already this year. Their first-round game was played at Grand Canyon University because of a concert featuring musical artist Maluma, and they will play Game 3 at Arizona State's Desert Financial Arena because Disney on Ice is scheduled for Sunday at the Footprint Center.
"There were a lot of moving parts and a number of groups, including the NBA and WNBA, the Lakers and their local broadcast partner, and ESPN that had to work together to make this happen," Jason Rowley, the president and CEO for Suns Legacy Partners, LLC, said in a statement. "In the end, all parties should be proud to be a part of this historic doubleheader."
While the Mercury's Game 4 will be part of a doubleheader in the sense that two games will be played back-to-back on the same court, fans will have to buy separate tickets for each game.
Suns guard Chris Paul bought a block of 500 tickets for Sunday's Game 3. According to a release, Paul's tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at a redemption table outside of Desert Financial Arena starting at 10:30 a.m.
The Mercury-Aces series is tied 1-1.
