WNBA Responds to Reported Sun Sale to Celtics Minority Governor, Boston Rumors

On Saturday, the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn and the Associated Press reported that Boston Celtics minority ogovernor Steve Pagliuca was leading an ownership group that planned to buy the Connecticut Sun for $325 million and move the franchise to Boston starting in the 2027 season.

The WNBA later pushed back on that reporting in a statement from a league spokesperson:

The WNBA's upcoming expansion includes the cities of Portland (2026), Toronto (2026), Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030).

The Sun are currently owned by the Mohegan Tribe and play at the Mohegan Sun Arena located within the Mohegan Sun casino. The team does play some regular season games at the Celtics' TD Garden arena, however.

Washburn reported that a "Sun source said the Mohegan Tribe has been looking to move on from the WNBA team, and two sellout games at TD Garden the past two years encouraged ownership to look for a Boston group. Several Sun players lauded the atmosphere, TD Garden amenities, and the city during their visits."

According to the AP, Pagliuca reportedly "also would contribute $100 million for a new practice facility in Boston for the team."

While the reported move would only relocate the Sun about two hours away from where they currently play, the WNBA's board of governors don't seem inclined to allow such a move to take place, at least at the moment.

Not that Boston isn't clearly very interested.

"I've been pushing for years for Boston to get a WNBA team; I think it would be great for Boston,” Massachusetts governor Maura Healey told Washburn. "And that would be great for the WNBA and we saw that for a second year in a row, a sellout crowd at TD Garden. I've been at this for a couple of years."