HARTFORD, Conn. — The ongoing saga of the Mohegan Tribe’s attempt to sell the Connecticut Sun took another turn on Tuesday when ESPN reported that the WNBA is attempting to counter the two offers currently on the table from prospective ownership groups in Boston and Hartford.

According to the ESPN report, the WNBA opposes a move to either city and made its own offer to purchase the team for $250 million without charging a relocation fee. Such a move would allow the league to then facilitate the sale to a preferred candidate.

The league put out a statement after news of the Boston agreement leaked, that said the nine cities who submitted bids during the league’s latest round of expansion “currently have priority over Boston” to receive a WNBA team. A WNBA spokesperson reiterated that sentiment in a statement to The Courant regarding Hartford’s attempt to purchase the Sun.

The Boston Globe first reported that the tribe was set to sell the franchise to a group led by former Boston Celtics minority governor Steve Pagliuca for $325 million, with an addition $100 million commitment to build the team a dedicated practice facility.

The tribe reportedly reached an agreement with the Boston group in July, and though the deal was presented to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, it was never brought before the Board of Governors, which must approve any deal.

After the period of exclusivity with Boston ran out, an investment group led by former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry made its own $325 million bid to keep the team in Connecticut and move its home to PeoplesBank Arena in downtown Hartford. A source familiar with negotiations told the Courant in early August that they were not aware of any serious offers being considered outside of those from Pagliuca’s and Lasry’s groups. Lasry has ties to Connecticut and grew up in West Hartford.

The WNBA has awarded six new franchises over the last three years, which will bring the league to 18 teams by 2030, but Boston did not submit an expansion bid during any of the recent rounds. The nine cities still under consideration for expansion include Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Denver; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; and St. Louis.

ESPN reported that the Mohegan Tribe plans to present multiple proposals to the league in an attempt to salvage what would be a record-breaking sale in women’s professional sports. Those options include: A full franchise sale to Pagliuca’s group or the Hartford group, selling a minority stake and keeping the team at Mohegan Sun Arena, or allowing the league to purchase the franchise for $325 million and relocate it.

Why does the WNBA oppose Hartford and Boston?

The WNBA has established a pattern of preference towards NBA ownership groups in its expansion process, and it seems that preference also extends to the Sun’s potential buyer. Of the six expansion teams awarded since 2023, all have gone to bids led by current NBA owners: Golden State, Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia.

Multiple reports indicate that the league’s preferred location for the Sun is Houston, which submitted an expansion bid led Tilman Feritta, the Rockets’ owner.

While both the Hartford and Boston bids for the Sun are led by former NBA investors, neither includes an active owner in the league. Pagliuca attempted to purchase the Celtics in 2024 after 23 years as minority owner, but he was outbid by an group led by billionaire Bill Chisolm. In its statement regarding the Boston group’s deal with the Mohegan Tribe, the WNBA said, “Celtics prospective owner Bill Chisholm has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.”

ESPN reported that the league sent a letter to the Sun in April stating that the Tribe “does not have the right … to change the playing site of the Team’s home games from Mohegan Sun Arena or to conduct any Team operations outside of the Team Member’s Territory (which is defined as the 75-mile area surrounding Montville and does not include Boston).”

PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford is less than 45 miles from Mohegan Sun, but ESPN reported that the league told the team it would not approve a move to Connecticut’s capital city either.

“I think it’s a bad idea for the league to try to take this team out of Connecticut to some other area,” Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam told The Courant on Aug. 7. “I think it would be great for the league to continue to expand through the process of expansion, but we would ask that they not intentionally try to steer a team out of Connecticut, which is a place that has supported the women’s basketball game for decades.”

What precedent says about a move to Hartford

It is standard practice in both the WNBA and NBA for a change in home arena to require approval from the Board of Governors. The Golden State Warriors needed such a vote to move from Oracle Arena in Oakland to Chase Center in San Francisco in 2019. The Brooklyn Nets also needed approval to relocate to Barclays Center from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., in 2012.

The WNBA has never had an issue with a team relocating inside of its own territory however. The New York Liberty moved their home arena 28 miles from Madison Square Garden to Westchester County Center in 2018, then brought the team back 32 miles from Westchester to Barclays Center in 2020.

A move to Hartford would provide a sizable jump in capacity for the Sun, who currently play in an 8,900-seat arena at Mohegan Sun. PeoplesBank Arena seats more than 16,000 and is currently in the midst of a $145 million renovation. Westchester County Center had a capacity of approximately 5,000 for the Liberty, and the team now regularly fills more than 17,000 seats at Barclays Center.

The Sun have operated in Connecticut since 2002, when the Mohegan Tribe purchased the franchise for approximately $10 million to relocate it from Orlando. The team has a dedicated fan base in the New England region, selling out of season tickets in 2025 for the first time in franchise history, and it has sold out Mohegan Sun Arena three times this year. Despite a league-worst 6-27 record, Connecticut is averaging its highest-ever per game attendance at 8,812 — up from 8,450 in 2024 — and it sold out more than 19,000 seats in a one-off game at TD Garden for the second consecutive season.

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