On Saturday, multiple outlets reported that a group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca has reached an agreement to purchase the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA for $325 million from the Mohegan Tribe.
The Boston Globe is also reporting that Pagliuca’s group will contribute an additional $100 million to build the team a practice facility, fully moving the franchise away from their current home at Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT.
This price tag would be the highest sale price for a women’s sports franchise in the history of North American sports.
Despite these reports, the Globe is also reporting that one source within the WNBA tells them that the league was hoping to save Boston as a possible expansion city option in 2033. That would make Boston the sixth new expansion city to join the league over the next several years, with teams in Toronto, Portland, Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia all on the horizon.
Here’s what a WNBA spokesperson told the Globe in a statement:
“Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams, and no groups from Boston applied for a team during the recent expansion process. Nine additional cities also applied for WNBA teams and remain under active consideration. Those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston. A prospective Celtics owner has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.”
Clearly there’s still some details to iron out, but it appears Pagliuca is motivated to remain a power player on the Boston professional basketball scene in some capacity after being outbid by William Chisholm earlier this year for a majority stake in the Celtics.
And if the two sellout games the Sun have played at TD Garden the past two seasons are any indication as to this city’s appetite for another professional basketball franchise, it’s clear Boston is ready to welcome the WNBA with open arms.
“Boston should have a WNBA team,” Governor Maura Healey told The Greg Hill Show the morning after this year’s game for the Sun in Boston. “It's the best thing for the players, the best thing for the league. I mean, two years in a row the Garden sold out. It was just hopping last night. Causeway had the feel of Bruins, Celtics playoff time. It was that packed.
“We've got the market. We're the greatest sports town in America, and we're also the place where basketball was invented, the men's game, the women's game, home to the Hall of Fame. We’re the hub, we’re the capital of New England, and the Sun should be in Boston. And everybody can come from other states to enjoy it, and we'll share the love and share the wealth.”
In addition to all the narrative angles Healy mentioned, she also sees this potential move as having a great economic impact on the city.
“I mean, you know the dollars right now, the money and the marketing and the retail and the gear and the interest, it's so with the WNBA,” said Healy. “It's just growing like mad. The sales yesterday were unbelievable. I think we've got great sponsorship opportunities here. We've got great interest.
“Hotels in Boston were sold out last night because of this game alone. So, I think it's just a no-brainer for the league. We absolutely need a team here. I issued a proclamation for whatever that's worth, just commending, celebrating the WNBA, and just affirming that as governor, I'll do anything I can to get a team here in Boston.”