Connecticut lawmakers are weighing in on the future of the Connecticut Sun after reports that the WNBA opposes a move to Hartford or Boston, and that it made what could be considered a “low-ball” offer to the Mohegan Tribe in an effort to move the franchise elsewhere.
The Mohegan Tribe reportedly reached an agreement in July on what would have been a record-breaking $325 million offer from former Boston Celtics part-owner Steve Pagliuca, which would have moved the franchise to Boston. That offer was matched by by former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, who planned to keep the team in Connecticut and play games at the PeoplesBank Arena in downtown Hartford.
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The WNBA reportedly told the Mohegan Tribe that its Board of Governors would not approve a move to either city, and instead offered to buy the team for $250 million. The league would then sell to a new buyer while waiving its relocation fee, allowing it to relocate the franchise to a market it prefers. The $250 million is the same price the league got for expansion franchises in Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia. It announced the future addition of those franchises in June.
In addition to that proposal being $75 million less than the Boston or Hartford bids, the Mohegan Tribe would prefer to sell to a local buyer, according to multiple reports.
The state of Connecticut reportedly submitted a proposal last week which would have the state enter into a limited partnership agreement with the tribe, with the team remaining primarily at Mohegan Sun Arena and playing some games at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford. The proposal reportedly involves state-affiliated funding and would have the state build and finance a practice facility in Hartford for the team to lease.
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Monday, saying that interference by the WNBA into the tribe’s efforts to sell to a local buyer could violate federal antitrust laws.
“Any further attempts by the WNBA to use its considerable governance and market power over the Connecticut Sun to limit or dictate negotiations with the state of Connecticut could be a unreasonable restraint of trade and interference with the market that would violate federal antitrust laws,” Blumenthal wrote. “As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over antitrust matters, I am closely monitoring the WNBA’s actions and will demand investigations and enforcement actions from the appropriate federal authorities if it takes any step to hinder or constrain Connecticut’s negotiations.”
“I strongly urge the WNBA to refrain from any further actions that would interfere with the state of Connecticut’s efforts to keep the Sun where it belongs, in Connecticut,” Blumenthal wrote.
Conn. Sen. Chris Murphy also weighed in over the weekend via a thread on X, alleging that a prospective bidder is trying to force a sale at a “bargain price.” A spokesperson from Murphy’s office told The Courant Murphy was referring to the bidder as Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, after reports about the WNBA’s preference for the team to go to Houston via a sale to Fertitta.
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“The corporate arm of the @WNBA wants to force the Mohegan Tribe (who owns the team) to accept a low-ball offer from a Trump-backed billionaire. It’s wrong and there’s a better option,” Murphy wrote. “The Trump backed buyer is trying to take the team completely out of the northeast. And their bid is WORSE than Hartford’s bid! They are essentially trying to use their influence with the league to steal the team from the tribe at a bargain price. It’s not right.”
ESPN reported last week that the Mohegan Tribe would submit proposals to the league that included a sale to Pagliuca’s group, a sale to Lasry’s group, selling a minority stake in the organization, or allowing the league to purchase the franchise for $325 million and relocate it.
The WNBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
