‘Incredibly disappointing’: State leaders react as Connecticut Sun move to Houston becomes official
Reaction to the news Monday that the Connecticut Sun WNBA team is officially being moved to Houston was of sadness and regret in Connecticut, especially amongst those who had tried to keep the professional women’s basketball team in the state over the last year. “It’s incredibly disappointing,” Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said Monday. “We just had an incredibly exciting day of basketball (Sunday) with the men’s and women’s Huskies making it to the Final Four and this is the basketball capital of the world– I still believe that.
“The thought of losing our one professional basketball franchise, a franchise that based on the sale price grew in market value more than 10 times since they came to this state, is just really disappointing as a fan and as mayor of the city. ” City and state officials had worked to try to keep the team in state after it was announced that the Mohegan Tribe was looking to sell last year. Marc Lasry, a former Milwaukee Bucks owner, put together a $325 million bid and planned to relocate the team to Hartford, where it would play in People’s Bank Arena.
In Boston, a group led by Stephen Pagliuca, a former Celtics shareholder, also put in a $325 million bid. Mohegan Tribe confirms Connecticut Sun sale to Tilman Fertitta, relocation to Houston Both were rejected by the WNBA in favor of a $300,000 offer from Houston, which has a bigger media market than Hartford, as well as an NBA team. WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert said last June that Houston was next in line for an expansion team.
The team will spend the upcoming season in Uncasville before moving before the 2027 season. The sale still needs approval from the WNBA’s Board of Governors. Sen.
Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn. ) said Sunday he was unhappy about the move as a basketball fan, and he also raised the possibility that the sale could be a violation of anti-trust laws. “We have one of the best and most spirited fan bases in the country for basketball,” Blumenthal said.
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