Hartford bid to purchase Sun undeterred by reported lack of support from WNBA

Emily Adams, Hartford Courant on Aug 7, 2025

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HARTFORD, Conn. — Despite reports that the WNBA is not supportive of Hartford’s bid to purchase the Connecticut Sun, the local investment group isn’t giving up on its push to keep the franchise in-state.

The Boston Globe reported Saturday that an investment group led by the Boston Celtics minority governor Steve Pagliuca had reached an agreement to purchase the Sun from the Mohegan Tribe for $325 million with an additional $100 million commitment for a dedicated practice facility in Boston. A group led by former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry submitted a competing bid exceeding $300 million to move the Sun to PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford with plans to build a downtown practice facility for the team.

But Sports Business Journal first reported Tuesday that the WNBA’s Board of Governors would “almost certainly” vote against the team’s relocation to either Hartford or Boston because neither city submitted a bid during the league’s most recent round of expansion.

That explanation holds some weight for Boston, which had a potential ownership group separate from Pagliuca’s discussing a bid. However, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Hartford would have made a push for its own new franchise with a well-established team less than 50 miles away in the same state.

“It would make no sense for Hartford to try to get an expansion team and create a second WNBA team in the state of Connecticut. We’re not asking for a second WNBA team here,” Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said Thursday. “We’re trying to make the argument for why it makes sense to keep a WNBA team here and have them in Hartford at a 16,300-person arena in a capital city that’s both a basketball capital and a place with a deep history of women’s basketball. I certainly hope the league understands the value of that.”

The WNBA put out a statement after news of a deal with the Boston group leaked, which said the nine bid cities that were not awarded expansion franchises “currently have priority over Boston.” Any relocation agreement must be approved by the league’s Board of Governors, and Front Office Sports reported that Pagliuca’s group’s offer was presented to commissioner Cathy Engelbert in July but never brought before the board.

The cities who submitted unsuccessful expansion bids include Austin, Charlotte, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Miami, Nashville and St. Louis.

Charlotte, Houston and Miami previously had WNBA teams that folded in the early 2000s, and Engelbert said back in June that Houston “would be up next, for sure” to receive a team. The Houston Comets, which folded in 2008, are still tied for the most championships in league history with four straight from 1997-2000.

Houston ultimately missed out on an expansion franchise because its bid was at least $50 million short of the $250 million fee paid by Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia, according to the Houston Chronicle. Cleveland will join the league in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.

According to multiple reports, the Houston group led by Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is considered a contender by the WNBA to purchase the Sun, which will come with a price tag exceeding $300 million on top of a relocation fee charged by the league. However, a source familiar with negotiations told The Hartford Courant they were not aware of any serious offers on the table outside of the bids from Boston and Hartford.

The source also confirmed that Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont intends to lobby both the WNBA and NBA commissioner Adam Silver on behalf of the Hartford bid.

The Sun, which relocated to Connecticut from Orlando in 2003, have a passionate existing fanbase, selling out of season tickets this year for the first time in franchise history despite the departure of all five starters from the 2024 roster. The team is also averaging its highest-ever annual attendance of 8,937 fans per game in 2025 amid a 5-23 start to the season.

“It seems like an excuse from the league,” Arulampalam said. “I would hope that Commissioner Silver appreciates the historical origins of the game and doesn’t build the league about around glitz but appreciates places like Connecticut where there have been four decades of women’s basketball fans and where people have made investment in and cheered on women’s sports.”

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