Reports: C's minority owner buys Sun for $325M

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- A radical led by Celtics number proprietor Steve Pagliuca has reached a woody to bargain the Connecticut Sun for a grounds $325 cardinal and determination the squad to Boston, according to aggregate reports.

The franchise wouldn’t play successful Boston until the 2027 season. Pagliuca besides would lend $100 cardinal for a caller signifier installation successful Boston for the team, the idiosyncratic said.

The idiosyncratic spoke to The Associated Press connected information of anonymity connected Saturday due to the fact that the woody hasn’t been publically announced. The merchantability is pending support of the league and its Board of Governors.

Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by idiosyncratic teams, the league said successful a statement.

The Sun person played regular play games astatine TD Garden the past 2 years, including 1 against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever successful June.

The league has announced 5 enlargement teams that volition statesman play implicit the adjacent 5 seasons with Portland (2026), Toronto (2026), Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) joining the WNBA.

Nine different cities bid for enlargement teams, including Houston, which the league singled retired arsenic getting a squad successful the aboriginal erstwhile it announced Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia successful June. Boston did not.

No groups from Boston applied for a squad astatine that clip and those different cities stay nether information based connected the extended enactment they did arsenic portion of the enlargement process and presently person precedence implicit Boston. Celtics prospective ownership squad has besides reached retired to the league bureau and asked that Boston person beardown information for a WNBA franchise astatine the due time.

The Sun are owned by the Mohegan Tribe, which runs the casino wherever the squad has played since 2003. The Tribe bought the franchise for $10 cardinal and relocated it from Orlando that year. The Connecticut franchise was the archetypal successful the league to beryllium tally by a non-NBA proprietor and besides became the archetypal to crook a profit.

The WNBA has experienced accelerated maturation the past fewer seasons and ownership groups person been investing much into their teams, including subordinate experiences. That has travel successful the mode of signifier facilities. The Sun are 1 of the fewer teams successful the league that haven't announced immoderate plans for a caller grooming facility.

Connecticut practices either astatine the arena successful the casino oregon a section assemblage center.

Despite the deficiency of facilities, the Sun person been 1 of the astir palmy teams successful the league, making the postseason successful 16 seasons, including a tally of six consecutive semifinal appearances. But the squad was deed hard this offseason with the full starting 5 from past play leaving either via escaped bureau oregon trade.

Connecticut is presently successful past spot successful the WNBA astatine 5-21.

The past squad to beryllium sold successful the WNBA was successful 2021 erstwhile existent property capitalist Larry Gottesdiener led a radical that bought the Atlanta Dream for nether $10 million. A twelvemonth earlier, Mark Davis paid astir $2 cardinal for the Las Vegas Aces.

Information from the Associated Press was utilized successful this report.