Connecticut governor deals blow to WNBA’s Boston hopes amid Sun sale rumors originally appeared on The Sporting News
Amid the franchise’s worst season since it was began play as the Orlando Miracle in 1999, Connecticut Sun fans have been dealt fresh hope that their team is not going to pack up and leave for Boston in 2027.
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A group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca has lodged a $325 million offer to purchase the struggling Sun and move the franchise to Massachusetts after next season. After six successive seasons reaching the WNBA semifinals or better, Connecticut entered a rebuild this year and owns the league’s worst record at 5-22.
MORE:Celtics owner breaks silence amid swirling Connecticut Sun rumors
But the promise of a larger media market and a new $100 million practice facility is not enough to guarantee the WNBA’s first relocation since the San Antonio Stars became the Las Vegas Aces in 2018. Any relocation bid must be approved by the league’s board of governors — and Connecticut governor Ned Lamont said Monday that his state would “do what it takes to keep the Sun in Connecticut.”
“When it comes to the Connecticut Sun, we’re late in the fourth quarter, we still have some catching up to do, but it’s not over until it’s over,” Lamont told reporters.
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It has been speculated that billionaire Marc Lasry, who grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, is preparing a rival bid to purchase the Sun from the Mohegan Tribe, which has owned the franchise since 2003. Lasry was a co-owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks between 2014 and 2023, when he sold his stake to Cleveland Browns co-owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam.
The Sun are the only professional sports team in the state of Connecticut, where UConn Huskies basketball — both men’s and women’s — has long dominated the state’s sporting culture. That factor has played into Lamont’s commitment to avoid a sale to Pagliuca and Boston-based interests.
“We’re fighting like heck,” Lamont said. “Connecticut’s the home of women’s basketball. The Sun ought to be right here.”
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