Possible Sale of the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA: A Detailed Analysis
The WNBA’s Connecticut Sun franchise is at a crossroads, exploring options to capitalize on what could have been a record-breaking sale of the franchise for $325 million. Sources close to the situation report that the Mohegan tribe, which has owned the team since its relocation in 2003, is negotiating with the league to define the future of the organization.
The initial agreement to sell the team to a group led by Steve Pagliuca, former minority owner of the Boston Celtics, faced resistance from the league, especially due to the possible relocation of the team to Boston. The WNBA emphasized that relocation decisions are the responsibility of the Board of Governors, prioritizing cities that have gone through the expansion process.
Faced with this situation, the Mohegan tribe is considering several proposals:
Complete sale of the franchise to the Pagliuca group.
Sale to a group led by Marc Lasry, former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, with the possibility of moving the team to Hartford, Connecticut.
Sale of a minority stake in the organization.
Allow the league to buy the franchise for $325 million and relocate it from the WNBA’s smallest market.
A source close to the property expresses frustration with the league’s stance, perceiving that the team’s relocation to a specific market is favored.
Source Close to the Property
The league offered to acquire the Sun for $250 million, not including a relocation fee, facilitating the sale to a preferred expansion city. This offer was made before Pagliuca’s proposal of $325 million.
The agreement with Pagliuca, although it did not explicitly mention Boston, aimed to move the team for the 2027 season, with an investment of $100 million for a training facility. The success of the Sun with full houses at the TD Garden in Boston, with the presence of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, was not enough to avoid the league’s concerns about the stadium’s capacity to host all the games.
The league’s main concern about relocation to Boston is the lack of a formal expansion proposal. However, the Mohegan tribe seeks to maximize the value of the franchise, considering Pagliuca’s experience in the NBA.The league would consider Boston in a future expansion round, with Bill Chisholm, the new owner of the Celtics, as the preferred owner. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has been in contact with Chisholm.
The possible sale of the Sun comes at a crucial moment for the WNBA, with an increase in the value of franchises, television viewership, and the popularity of the players. The new media rights deals are expected to make the league profitable for the first time in its 29 years of existence.
The league announced the awarding of new franchises to Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, each for 250 million dollars, as part of its largest expansion since its inception, reaching a record of 18 teams in 2030.
The Suns initiated a process to explore investment options, considering a partial sale for infrastructure or a total sale.
The league asked the tribe to allow the group that owns the Cleveland Cavaliers to submit an offer before starting the sale process, as Cleveland was a strong expansion candidate. Selling Cleveland would have also opened an expansion slot to a city like Houston, which Commissioner Engelbert highlighted as “the one we have in our sights.”The Suns’ ownership rejected Cleveland’s offer, which was slightly lower than the subsequent expansion fee, after being advised that they could get more money from other offers.
The league sent a letter to the Sun in April, stating that any sale would be subject to the approval of the WNBA’s board of governors and that the tribe “has no right to change the location of the team’s home games at the Mohegan Sun Arena or to conduct any team operations outside the team member’s territory (which is defined as the 75-mile area around Montville, Connecticut and does not include Boston).”
Following the expiration of the exclusivity period for Pagliuca’s offer, the Lasry group matched the offer of $325 million, but the league has informed the Sun that it will not approve a move to Hartford, 45 miles from Uncasville and within the team’s territory.
The tribe can still maintain ownership of the team, selling a minority stake or retaining full control. It could also self-finance a training facility or work with the state to obtain funding and have the team rent it.
