Mercury set to open in Coliseum May 17

The Phoenix Mercury will play their first 36-game schedule this year as the WNBA adds two games to the regular season in its 24th season.

That means playing three teams four times, which for the Mercury will be Los Angeles, Minnesota and Seattle, and eight teams three times.

The Mercury open their season at home against Seattle on May 17, the first pro basketball game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum since the Phoenix Suns left in May 1992. They are playing at the Coliseum for at least one season due to renovations at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Other schedule highlights include:

• Five of the first six games and six of the last nine at home.

• Home games immediately before and after the Olympic break against Seattle on July 10 and Los Angeles on Aug. 16. The Olympics are July 24-Aug. 9 in Tokyo with the U.S. women's team trying for a seventh straight gold medal.

• A nationally televised home game on ABC against WNBA defending champion Washington on Sept. 6.

• Nationally televised away games against Las Vegas on June 6 (ABC), New York on June 16 (ESPN2), Los Angeles on June 23 (ESPN2) and Seattle on Sept. 13 (ABC).

• Home matinee game against Las Vegas on July 8.

• Final home game vs. Minnesota on Sept. 18 followed by the regular season finale at the Lynx on Sept. 20.

• 21 games before the Olympic break and 15 after.

• Eight away games (of 11 total) in June and five consecutive road games the Aug. 16 post-Olympic opener.

The new WNBA Commissioners Cup competition -- with a special prize pool --will culminate with a championship game between the Western and Eastern Conference Cup standing leaders, tentatively on Aug. 14 before regular-season play resumes after the Olympic break.

Designated Cup games will be the first home and first road game against conference opponents. Those games for the Mercury are May 17 and 19 vs. Seattle, May 26 and June 19 vs. Minnesota, June 3 and 7 vs. Dallas, June 6 and July 8 vs. Las Vegas and June 13 and 23 vs. Los Angeles.

The Mercury were 15-19 last season and lost in the WNBA playoff first round to Chicago.

Mercury 2020 schedule

May 17: Seattle, 3 p.m.

May 19: at Seattle, 7 p.m. May 24: Indiana, 3 p.m.

May 26: Minnesota, 7 p.m. May 29: Connecticut, 7 p.m. May 31: Washington, 3 p.m. June 3: at Dallas, 5 p.m. June 6: at Las Vegas, noon (ABC) June 7: Dallas, 3 p.m.

June 13: Los Angeles, 7 p.m. June 16: at New York, 5 p.m. (ESPN2)

June 17: at Atlanta, 4 p.m. June 19: at Minnesota, 5 p.m. June 23: at Los Angeles, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

June 26: Dallas, 7 p.m.

June 28: at Indiana, 11 a.m. June 30: at New York, 4 p.m. July 3: Chicago, 7 p.m.

July 5: at Los Angeles, 6 p.m. July 8: Las Vegas, 12:30 p.m. July 10: Seattle, 7 p.m.

Aug. 16: Los Angeles, 3 p.m. Aug. 18: at Las Vegas, 7 p.m. Aug. 21: at Indiana, 4 p.m. Aug. 23: at Atlanta, noon Aug. 25: at Washington, 4 p.m. Aug. 27: at Connecticut, 4 p.m. Aug. 30: New York, 3 p.m. Sept. 1: Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Sept. 4: Chicago, 7 p.m. Sept. 6: Washington, noon (ABC) Sept. 9: Connecticut, 7 p.m. Sept. 11: at Chicago, 5 p.m. Sept. 13: at Seattle, noon (ABC) Sept. 18: Minnesota, 7 p.m. Sept. 20: at Minnesota, 4 p.m. x-All times Mountain Standard