The WNBA might not think Boston is at the top of the list of cities who should get a team sooner rather than later, but that doesn't mean Boston's leadership agrees. While speaking to The Boston Globe Saturday, August 23, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey insisted the city should not have to wait any longer for a team when the Connecticut Sun is right there.
Healey, who has been working closely with Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, who will soon depart his post, and the new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm, as well as the WNBA, NBA, and the current owners of the Sun to make something happen for Boston, didn't mince words. "The league has been saying this is a timing issue and Boston needs to wait, and I don’t believe that Boston should wait," she said.
"Nor should the Tribe have to wait. We’ve got women players right now, management, staff, and a women’s professional league that would benefit from this. Why people would stand in the way of that, I don’t understand. Again, it does nothing to take away from expansion opportunities or future expansion opportunities," Healey added.
Things seemed in order for Boston to claim the Sun earlier this year — that is, for everyone except the WNBA, who soon made it clear that other cities are in line in front of the Massachusetts capital. Those cities include Miami, Nashville, and Houston — as well as Denver and Charlotte, in addition to others. The league also announced this summer that three new teams will debut in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia in 2028, 2029, and 2030.
The deal in question was spearheaded by Pagliuca, who agreed to pay the Mohegan Tribe $325 million to buy the Sun and relocate the team to Boston ahead of the 2027 season. Paglicua also committed to building a brand new $100 million practice facility for the team, a huge upgrade over the gym they infamously shared with a toddler's birthday party while preparing for the WNBA playoffs in 2024.
But that deal soon appeared to be off the table, and Cathy Engelbert confirmed it was never presented to the league's board of governors for approval, a process that would have meant the Mohegan Tribe would have been locked into the arrangement with Paglicua. Now, the Tribe has been able to explore potential deals with other groups, another threat to potentially moving the team to Boston.
Those other groups include the WNBA itself. The league offered to buy the team for $250 million and move it to a city of the league's choosing, but the Sun have yet to commit to any of the opportunities on the table.